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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Hittoricai  IMicroreproductions  /  inatitut  Canadian  da  microraproductlons  historiquaa 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Note*  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
wlilch  msy  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  oH  filming,  are  checked  below. 


S 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


r~n    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagie 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurAe  et/ou  peiiiculAe 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gtographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  inic  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  biaclt)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bieue  ou  noire) 


I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
ReliA  avec  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serr6e  pjut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  ie  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutAes 
iors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais.  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  At4  filmAes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplimentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  AtA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquto  ci-dessous. 


I     I   Coloured  pages/ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaurtes  et/ou  pellicultes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe< 
Pages  dAcolortes,  tachettes  ou  piqutos 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quaiiti  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Inclu  ies  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppKmentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


I — I  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

rT7|  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

F~|  Pages  detached/ 

rri  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

rn  Inclu  ies  supplementary  material/ 

I     I  Only  edition  available/ 


D 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  M  filmtes  A  nouveau  de  fapon  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


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The  copy  filmad  h«r«  has  b—n  r«produc«d  thanks 
to  th«  ganarosity  of: 

Library  Diviiion 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imaoaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  consldaring  tha  condition  and  laglbillty 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  liaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  tpacif ications. 


Original  coplas  in  printad  papar  covart  v  fllmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  imprat- 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  approprlata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  fllmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion.  and  anding  on  tha  last  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  imprassion. 


L'axamplaira  fllm«  fi 
gAnArositA  da: 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  on  aach  microf icha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  ^^  (moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  ▼  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  appllas. 

(Maps,  piatas.  charts,  ate.  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  iarga  to  ba 
antiraly  includad  in  ona  axposura  ara  fllmad 
baginning  in  tha  uppar  laft  hand  cornar.  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framas  as 
raquirad.  Tha  following  diagrams  iilustrata  tha 
mathod: 


Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Laa  Imagas  suh/antaa  ont  At*  raproduitas  avac  la 
plus  grand  soln,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nattat*  da  l'axamplaira  film*,  at  an 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
fllmaga. 

Las  axamplalras  origlnaux  dont  la  couvartura  an 
paplar  ast  ImprimAa  sont  fllmAs  •n  commandant 
par  la  pramlar  plat  at  an  tarmlnant  soit  par  la 
darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprasslon  ou  d'illustratlon.  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axamplalras 
origlnaux  sont  fllmto  mn  commandant  par  la 
pramlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprasslon  ou  d'illustratlon  at  9n  tarmlnant  par 
la  darni*ra  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  das  symbolas  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
darnlAra  imaga  da  chaqua  microficha.  salon  la 
cas:  la  symbols  -^>  signifia  "A  SUIVRE".  la 
symbols  ▼  signifia  "FIN". 

Las  cartas,  planchas.  tablaaux,  ate.  pauvant  Atra 
fiimte  k  das  taux  da  rMuction  diffirants. 
Lorsqua  la  documant  ast  trop  grand  pour  Atra 
raprodult  an  un  saul  clich*.  11  ast  film*  A  partir 
da  i'angia  supAriaur  gaucha.  da  gaucha  A  drolta. 
at  da  haut  an  bas.  9n  pranant  la  nombra 
d'imagas  nAcassaira.  Las  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrant  la  mAthoda. 


1 

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3 

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\' ;y>^'*«  ■■*" 


THE  POLAR  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION. 

* Jcy 


SPECIAL     MEETING 


OK    THE 


AMERICAN 


Geographical  &  Statistical  Society, 


,.  r 


HEM)     MAUCFI     a  a,     1800. 


£^-^  i'Uc 


-♦-•♦- 


1^ 


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NEW  YORK: 
PRINTED      FOR      THE     BOCIETV 
1860. 


ffafttr  At  Uorfwiii.  /*rl«rari,  Vu.  1  .vf>i»  ^f  i  W-  V. 


THE  POLAR  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION. 


A 


SPECIAL    MEETING 


or  TEB 


AMERICAN 


GeograpMcal  &  Statistical  Society, 


HELD     MARCH     23,    18GO. 


NEW  YORK: 

PRINTED     FOR     THE     SOCIETY. 

1860. 


( 


tHE 


r 


POLAR   EXPLORING   EXPEDITION. 


<■» 


1/ 
1 


A  BPEciAL  meeting  of  the  American  Geooeaphical  and 
Statistical  Society,  was  held  in  the  Hall  of  the  Historical 
Society,  on  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  twenty-second  of 
March,  1860. 

The  Honorable  Geokoe  Folsom,  one  of  the  Yice-Presidents 
of  the  Society,  took  the  Chair. 

Tlie  General  Secretary  of  the  Society  then  read  the  follow- 
ing letters, — 


FBOM  PBOFESSOE  ALEXANDER  DALLAS  BACHE,  LL.D. 


Washinoton,  March  21, 1860. 

Dear  Sib: 

I  regret  extremely  that  the  public  business  in  my 
charge  must  prevent  me  from  attending  the  meeting 
called  by  the  American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society, 
to  further  the  plans  of  Dr.  1.  1.  Hayes  in  regard  to  a  new 
expedition  to  the  Arctic  Regions. 

The  brilliant  achievements  of  Dr.  Kane  and  his  remark- 
able discoveries,  have  invested  the  region  of  Smith's  Sound 
with  especial  interest,  combining  the  romance  of  adventure 
with  sober  and  thorough  scientihc  examination  and  develop- 
ment. The  laborious  and  successful  observations  in  astrono- 
my, in  magnetism,  in  meteorology,  in  the  tides,  in  natural 
history,  in  general  physics,  have  stamped  Dr.  Kane's  last  ex- 

195801 


pedition  with  the  seal  of  true  science.  Tliese,  of  themselves, 
would  have  ^iven  him  one  of  the  high  niches  in  the  temple 
of  fame,  had  ho  not  already  occupied  by  acclamation  a 
higher,  as  discoverer  of  the  open  Polar  Sea.  The  more  this 
question  has  been  discussed  and  examined,  the  more  his  con- 
clusions have  been  confirmed  ;  Nature,  through  her  servants 
of  climate  and  heat,  of  winds  and  clouds,  of  animals  and  plants, 
epeaking  in  his  behalf. 

To  crown  these  investigations  and  discoveries,  Br.  Hayes, 
who  was  Kane's  companion  and  medical  ofilcer  in  the  last  ex- 
pedition, proposes  again  to  repair  to  Smitii's  Sound,  and  to 
push  his  way  by  a  route  familiar  to  him,  and  with  appliances 
the  use  of  whicn  he  has  thoroughly  studied,  to  the  shore  of 
that  great  reservoir  of  the  American  Gulf  Stream — the  Polar 
Sea.  Making  his  home  in  Greenland,  he  proposes  to  avail 
liimself  of  seasons  adapted  to  Arctic  exploration,  and  of  im- 
proved means  furnished  by  the  advance  of  science,  to  push 
forward  the  complete  solution  of  this  great  American  geogra- 
phical problem.  With  great  unanimity  the  scientific  bodies 
of  our  country  have  expressed  themselves  favor".ble  to  this 
nndertaking,  and  have  labored  through  their  members  to 
procure  the  means  and  to  point  out  the  subjects  for  investi- 
gation. 

The  harvest  which  Dr.  Kane  so  successfully  reaped  is  not 
all  reaped;  the  mowers  will  yet  find  abundant  materials  for 
their  sheaves,  the  gleaners  for  their  bundles.  The  subjects 
of  climate  and  magnetism,  the  tides  and  currents,  of  the  au- 
rora, of  general  physics,  are  by  no  means  exhausted ;  and  any 
one  of  them  is  worthy  of  an  expedition  to  determine  all  its 
facts.  Tlie  hardships  and  risks  of  such  an  expedition,  the 
physical  sufferings,  il'  they  must  be  encountered,  will  be  well 
repaid  by  a  position  such  as,  if  successful,  must  place  its  com- 
mander on  the  roll  of  fame.  Indeed,  in  a  philosophical  point 
of  view,  one  might  be  willing  to  exchange  a  life  of  ease  for 
death  within  the  polar  circle,  to  occupy  a  place  in  men's  mem- 
ories beside  that  of  Elisha  Kent  Kane. 

While  Dr.  Hayes  has  the  indorsement  of  men  of  science 
throughout  the  country,  and  will  receive  contributions  in 
proportion  to  the  means  of  the  intelligent  and  wealthy  of  our 
cities,  it  seems  particularly  appropriate  that  New  Yort,  which 
has  so  completely  identified  itgelf  with  the  fame  and  success 
of  previous  American  Arctic  Expeditions,  should  also  lead 
in  this  one,  and  that  the  American  Geographical  Society 
should  bo  the  organ  of  the  country  in  bidding  it  God  speea. 
May  the  efforts  of  the  knowledge-loving  and  liberal  citizens 


of  the  great  emporium  of  commerce  of  America  be  successful 
in  furnishing  to  this  new  enterprise  every  facility  which  mo- 
ney can  give !  The  namp  of  one  great  mureliaiit  is  immortal- 
ized by  its  connection  with  the  former  expeditious.  May  there 
be  many  who  will  step  forward  to  promote  this — to  bo  its 
Grinnells  I 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

A.  D.  BACHE. 
Daniel  W.  Fiske,  Esq., 

Sec.  Am.  Geo.  and  Stat.  Soc. 


FBOM  PBOFESSOB  JOSV.PH  HENKV,  LL.D. 


SMrriisoNiAN  Institution, 
,  Washington,  D.  C,  March  16th,  1860. 

Deab  Sib, 

It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  address  yon,  in  regard  to  the 
proposed  expedition  to  the  Arctic  liegions  by  Dr.  Hayes,  and 
to  assure  you  that  I  shall  be  mucli  gratified  to  learn  that  he 
has  been  successful  in  securing  an  outfit.  It  is  true,  that  such 
an  expedition  cannot  be  undertaken  without  the  prospect  of 
much  personal  inconvenience,  and  perhaps  risk  of  life ;  but  it 
must  be  recollected  that  nothing  of  great  value  can  be  obtain- 
ed witliout  laborious  exertion,  and  that  life  is  daily  periled  in 
thousands  of  instanccb  for  mere  pecuniary  gain  ;  and  that  it 
is  proper  it  should  be  risked  for  the  more  important  object  of 
increasing  the  bounds  of  human  knowledge.  That  there  is  a 
very  interesting  field  of  investigation  still  open  to  the  arctic 
explorer,  must  be  evident  to  any  one  who  will  attentively 
study  the  present  condition  of  science,  in  regard  to  this 
region. 

The  Smithsonian  Institution  is  now  engaged  in  publish- 
ing the  observations  of  Dr.  Kane,  which  have  been  reduced 
and  discussed  by  Mr.  Schott,  of  the  Coast  Survey,  at  the 
expense  of  the  Smithsonian  fund.  Tlie  discussions  to  which 
they  have  been  subjected,  have  resulted  in  a  series  of  deduc- 
tions relative  to  the  temperature,  pressure  of  atmosphere, 
direction  and  force  of  the  wind,  magnetism  and  the  tides,  of 
great  interest  to  science,  and  which  will  redound  perhaps 
more  to  the  permanent  reputation  of  Dr.  Kane,  than  even  his 
personal  narrative. 

Prof.  Bache  has  probably  written  to  you  on  the  subject  of 


; 


the  magnetigm,  the  tides  and  the  currents  of  the  north ;  and  I 
shall  therefore  confine  my  remarks  to  the  meteorology  of 
this  region. 

At  no  previous  period  in  the  history  of  meteorology,  has 
there  been  so  much  attention  given  to  this  science  as  at  pre- 
sent. Systems  of  cotemporaneous  observations  are  now  in 
operation,  in  almost  eve^  quarter  of  the  globe,  both  on  land 
and  sea.  You  are  probably  aware  of  the  fact,  that  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  m  connection  with  the  Patent  Ofiice  and 
the  War  Department,  and  in  co-operation  with  the  Board  of 
Education  of  Canada,  and  the  Huason's  Bay  Co..  has  establish- 
ed a  system  of  ineteorological  observations,  which  will  soon 
be  •  extended  over  the  wiiole  of  North  America.  From  the 
facts  already  collected  by  this  system,  it  would  appear  that 
tlie  great  changes  of  weather,  either  of  heat  or  of  cold,  enter 
our  territory  from  the  north,  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  Hocky 
Mountains,  and  thence  extend  southward  and  eastward,  over 
the  whole  United  States ;  and  that  at  least  there  are  two  sys- ' 
terns  of  storms,  one  coming  from  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains eastward,  and  the  other  commencing  in  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  and  following  the  general  course  of  the  Gulf  Stream, 
over-laps  our  coast. 

Now,  it  must  be  evident  to  yon  that  it  would  be  highly 
interesting  to  trace  these  changes  of  the  atmosphere  as  far  as 
possible  to  the  North ;  but  unfortunately,  during  the  period  of 
the  voyages  to  the  Arctic  regions,  previous  to  that  of  Dr. 
Kane,  no  contemporaneous  series  of  simultaneous  observations 
was  in  existence. 

Captain  McClintock  has  generously  put  at  our  disposal, 
the  original  manuscripts  of  his  observations ;  and  these,  in 
connection  with  those  of  Dr.  Kane,  give  us  such  indications 
of  extended  connection  of  disturbance  in  the  atmosphere,  as  to 
render  us  exceedingly  desi  >us  of  obtaining  more  mformation 
of  the  same  character. 

Not  only  are  observations  in  reference  to  the  abnormal 
condition  of  the  atmosphere  of  great  value,  but  further  infor- 
mation is  required  in  regard  to  the  general  circulation  of  the 
winds.  In  the  latest  deductions  of  the  distinguished  Director 
of  the  National  Observatory,  from  observations  at  sea,  the 
wind  is  represented  as  blowing  in  the  Arctic  regions  toward 
tlie  pole,  and  ascending  at  that  point ;  while  other  investiga- 
tors, from  strictly  dpnori  conceptions,  have  inferred  that  pre- 
cisely the  reverse  direction  is  the  true  •ne.  To  settle  this 
question,  which  is  connected  with  the  theory  of  the  entire 
circulation  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  Globe,  is  a  matter  of  much 


scientific  interest.  Besides  the  foregoing,  a  scries  of  observa- 
tions on  the  temperature  of  the  different  winds,  for  a  single 
additional  winter,  at  a  position  near  Yan  Rensellaer  Harbor, 
the  seat  of  Dr.  Kane's  observations,  would  tend  to  prove  or 
disprove  the  hypothesis  as  to  an  open  sea. 

Although  tne  list  of  appropriations  of  the  Smithsonian  in- 
come for  the  present  year  has  Dcen  made  out,  yet  so  mavh 
interest  is  felt  by  the  directors  of  the  establishment  in  the  en- 
terprise of  Dr.  Hayes,  that  a  contribution  would  be  made  to- 
ward cupolyingthe  necessary  instruments  ;  audi  doubt  not, 
thr.t  ''.  XI  uvy  Department,  the  Coast  Survey,  and  the  Na- 
tional Observatory,  would  co-operate  in  rendering  assistance 
to  the  same  object. 

Very  respectfully 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

JOSEPH  HENRY, 

Secretary. 


FROM  OOMMANDET    :i.   F.   MAUBY,   LL.D. 


Deab  Sir  : 


UMnvATORT,  Wa»hiHjt0n, ) 
2Ut  March,  IS'JO.  f 


I  have  received  the  invitation  in  behalf  of  the  Geogra- 
phical Society's  Committee  on  Arctic  Exploration,  and  would 
be  most  happy  to  participate  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
proposed  meeting;  but  I  am  tied  down  here.  I  con- 
cur most  fully  and  heartily  with  Dr.  Hayes  in  the  posi- 
tion which  he  takes  in  his  book — which,  please  say  to  him,  I 
have  read  with  much  interest  and  at  a  single  sitting — that  the 
cold  by  its  direct  influence  upon  the  person  is  not  the  chief 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  Arctic  Exploration.  The  great  dif- 
ficulty has  been  in  the  fact  that  explorers  have  not  heretofore 
been  able  to  enter  fully  upon  their  work  with  companions  in 
fresh,  vigorous,  and  robust  health.  And  as  a  proof  in  favor 
of  this  position,  we  have  but  to  look  at  the  climate  of 
Yakoutsk  in  Siberia.  There,  every  winter,  the  thermometer 
reaches  a  lower  stand  than  any  arctic  voyager  has  ever  found 
it  to  do  (Erman  quotes  it  at  72°),  and  yet  Yakoutsk  is  in  a 
grazing  country. 

Independent  of  De  Haven's  drift,  of  the  drift  of  the  Eeso- 
lute  and  the  Fox,  what  the  whalemen  call  the  middle  ice  of 
Bafiin's  Bay  proves  annually  that  every  winter  there  is  an 
ice-drift  out  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.    This  middle-ice,  you  are 


aware,  is  the  last  to  yield  to  the  summer-heat,  because  it  is 
frozen  at  the  North,  and  is  therefore  not  only  more  compact, 
but  colder  than  the  littoral  ice  which  is  formed  on  either 
side,  both  in  Baffin's  Bay  and  Davis'  Straits.  And  the  fact 
thut  a  tongue  of  ice  a  thousand  miles  long  comes  down  every 
winter  from  the  North  into  that  bay  and  strait,  is  proof  that 
this  moving  mass  must  be  se])arated  from  the  main  mass  of 
ice  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  if  separated  there  must  be  water 
between ;  and  that  open  water — there  are  many  other  reasons 
to  believe — is  not  far  from  the  northern  end  of  those  straits 
through  which  this  drift  annually  takes  place,  and  which  con- 
nect Baffin's  Bay  with  the  Arctic  Ocean.  And  if  Dr.  Hayes 
can  get  up  in  time  to  employ  hh^st  winter  in  pusliing  to 
the  North,  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  but  that  he  will  come 
to  open  water. 

I  have  just  come  across  a  new  fact,  which  favors  the  idea 
of  open  water  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  that  fact  is  in  the  in- 
dications of  the  barometer  as  well  as  in  the  direction  of  the 
wind.  I  have  just  risen  from  the  discussion  of  something 
like  a  hundred  thousand  observations  upon  the  barometer, 
and  of  more  than  a  million  upon  the  direction  of  the  wind 
at  sea.  These  observations  show  that  as  you  approach  the 
Poles,  especially  tlie  South  Pole,  where  we  have  tne  rule,  the 
mean  hight  of  the  barometer  is  less  and  less  and  the  average 
direction  of  the  wind  more  and  more  towards  the  Poles.  In 
other  words  there  is  a  great  rarefaction  of  the  air  in  the 
Polar  regions  ;  and  we  can  only  account  for  it  upon  the  sup- 

Eosition  that  this  rarefaction  is  due  the  effect  of  the  latent 
eat  of  vapor  which  is  liberated  in  the  processes  of  condensa- 
tion there.  And  the  question  comes  up,  since  the  Arctic 
Ocean  is  encompassed  almost  entirely  by  land,  whence  do 
those  vapors  coine  which  liberate  all  this  heat  in  the  cloud 
region,  it  not  from  that  boiling,  bubbling  pool  of  Gulf  Stream 
water,  whicli  ray  observations  show  goes  mto  that  sea  as  an 
under  current,  and  which  we  know  comes  out  as  an  upper 
one,  and  which  we  therefore  infer  must  at  some  place  cease 
to  go  forward,  rise  up  and  begin  to  flow  out  ?  However,  I 
will  say  no  more  upon  this  subject  at  present,  except  to 
assure  the  Society,  Dr.  Hayes,  and  the  Committee,  of  my 
sympathy  in  the  objects  which  they  have  in  view. 

Respectfully,  &c., 

M.  F.  MAURY. 
Daniel  TV".  Fiske,  Esq., 

Genl.  See.  Am.  Geog'l.  and 
StatH.  Society  J  New  York. 


9 


N.  B. — ^I  write  in  great  haste  and  without  time  to  elaborate 
this  barometric  indication  of  an  open  water.  I  send  you  a 
monograph  (No.  1)  and  a  diagram  (profile  of  the  atmosphere), 
whicli  will  enable  you  to  do  it  at  leisure. 


FBOai   DB.   B.   A.   GOULD. 


Cambbidoe,  1860,  March  20. 
My  Deab  Sib. 

It  is  with  much  regret  that  I  find  it  beyond  my  power  to 
to  be  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  N.  Y.  Geographical  So- 
ciety, and  to  join  in  the  eflForts  there  to  be  made  for  the  fur- 
therance of  Dr.  Hayes's  proposed  expedition.  My  interest 
in  and  sympathy  for  the  movement  are  so  great,  and  my 
hopes  for  its  success  so  earnest,  that  the  opportunity  of  con- 
tributing to  its  progress,  in  however  small  a  degreC;,  would  be 
more  than  welcome. 

Happily,  those  times  are  with  the  past  when  every  pecun- 
iary outlay  needed,  as  an  incentive,  the  prospect  of  some  near 
return  in  money  or  in  physical  power.  And  it  is  encouraging  to 
see  that  the  efforts  now  making  by  Dr.  Hayes  and  his  friends, 
are  urged  by  arguments  of  an  intellectual,  rather  than  of  a  mate- 
rial character.  Few  thinking  men  are  now  to  be  found  with  us, 
who  do  not  admit  the  prosecution  of  scientific  research  to  be 
among  the  duties  of  our  race ;  and  though,  in  the  wondrous  sys- 
tem ot  compensation  which  prevails  througiiout  the  moral,  intel- 
lectual, and  physical  creation,  mankind  has  always  been  reward- 
ed by  some  material  blessing,  for  the  pursuit  of  knowledge, 
no  matter  how  unpromising,  or  of  thought,  however  abstruse, 
yet  our  country  has  at  last  reached  that  stage  in  its  develop- 
ment when  tne  investigation  of  nature's  laws  is  considered 
as  a  sufticient  end,  rather  than  as  a  means  only  for  some  other 
result.  Astronomy,  geography,  zoology,  philosophy,  are  now 
prosecuted  and  honored  for  their  own  sakes,  not  for  mere 
uses  ;  yet  in  return,  they  bring  us  unsouglit  and  unawaited 
recompense.  And  if  it  be  among  the  bounden  duties  of  our 
race  to  gauge  the  abysses  of  space,  and  measure  the  duration 
of  all  elapsed  time  of  whicii  the  record  remains  ;  to  explore 
the  unspeakable  distances  of  the  material  universe ;  to  detect 
the  structures  of  the  polyp,  and  the  lichen ;  to  analyse  the 
unnumbered  forms  which  chemistry  reveals,  and  learn  their 
mutual  relations  ;  to  investigate  by  untiring  experiment  and 
continual  induction  the  laws  of  light,  heat,  electricity,  mag- 


10 


netism ;  to  observe  the  habits  of  animals  and  plants,  and  the 
track  of  meteors  and  comets, — who  can  doubt  that  it  is  also  our 
bounden  duty  to  study  the  surface  of  this  earth  of  ours,  and 
to  learn  at  least  the  configuration  of  its  land  and  water,  its 
coasts  and  channels,  and  the  distribution  of  its  mountain 
ranges.  We  are  yet  unaware  of  all  these  primary  facts, 
though  our  feet  are  chained  to  an  earth  so  small  that  our  ships 
sail  constantly  around  its  whole  circumference  within  a  less 
time  than  is  embraced  by  the  cycle  of  the  seasons.  That  its 
Arctic  and  Antarctic  regions  have  remained  so  long  unex- 
plored, is  to  mo  a  more  remarkable  fact  than  any  other  in  the 
history  of  geography.  The  practicability  of  Arctic  explora- 
tions has  been  abundantly  set  forth  by  Dr.  Hayes ;  who  has 
also  shown  that  the  calamities  which  have  unhappily  attended 
so  many  Arctic  voyages,  have  been  accidental  in  their  char- 
acter rather  than  incidental  to  the  nature  of  the  enterprise. 
And  in  his  anxiety  to  enga^  in  a  new  expedition  majr  be 
found  the  strongest  guaranty  of  the  strength  of  this  conviction, 
on  the  part  of  one  than  whom  few  living  men  are  more  com- 
petent to  judge,  and  who  certainly  knows  all  the  discourage- 
ments most  tnoroughly. 

The  question  of  practicability  being  thus  disposed  of,  it  is 
clearly  a  duty  to  prosecute  the  geographical  investigation. 
Not  only  the  distribution  of  land  and  sea, — of  glacier  and 
open  water  and  impenetrable  ice, — about  the  mysterious  pole 
are  to  be  discovered,  but  important  physical  facts  are  to  be 
learned,  which  may  throw  ample  light  upon  problems  yet 
unsolved.    In  those  regions,  where  the  needle  has  lost  its 
power  of  pointing  to  the  north ;  where  sun  and  moon  no 
longer  rise  and  set  with  the  earth's  daily  rotation ;  where  the 
Aurora  has  its  home ;  where  the  properties  of  matter  are  so 
changed  from  the  state  in  which  we  know  them  that  iron  be- 
comes brittle,  quicksilver  solid,  and  snow  gritty  like  the  beach 
sand ;  where  the  centrifugal  force  of  terrestrial  rotation  is  gone, 
and  an  untried  sea  ebbs  and  flows  according  to  laws  yet  un- 
known; where  the  almost  unbroken  darkness  of  a  six  months' 
night,  and  an  atmosphere  clarified  to  a  transparency  without 
example  here,  aflford  incomparable  opportunities  for  scrutiny 
of  the  northern  heavens  ;  where  the  distribution  of  temperature 
is  known  to  follow  peculiar  and  yet  undetected  laws, — the  sci- 
entific results  which  such  an  expedition,  provided  with  proper 
apparatus  in  the  hands  of  competent  men,  may  bring  us,  are 
quite  beyond  enumeration.    There  is  no  department  of  phys- 
ical science  which  cannot  furnish  abundant  problems  for  such 
an  expedition  to  solve.    Besides  all  this,  there  is  abundant 


11 


reason  to  suppose  that  a  wide  expanse  of  ocean,  the  waters 
teeming  with  animal  life  and  its  shores  with  vegetation,  sur- 
rounds the  terrestrial  pole,  and  contains  stores  of  new  revela- 
tions for  zoology  and  botany.  Whether  the  water  seen  in 
1864  by  Morton,  was  or  was  not  the  open  Polar  Sea,  is  a  com- 
paratively unimportant  question ;  since  the  almost  universal 
faith  of  scientists  in  the  existence  of  such  a  sea  is  founded  on 
other  considerations,  and  is  an  inference  from  well-known  and 
undoubted  physical  facts. 

It  is  the  duty  of  mankind  to  explore  these  strange  and  yet 
uncomprehendeia  portions  of  our  globe ;  and,  more  than  this, 
it  is  a  duty  which  seems  to  devolve  properly  upon  our  nation. 
Europe  has  contributed  more  than  her  just  proportion  of 
geographical  expeditions.  "What  region  on  earth  is  not  full 
of  her  labors  ?  Not  only  the  islands  of  the  sea,  and  the  very 
heart  of  Asia  have  been  trodden  by  the  feet  of  German  and 
English  explorers,  the  sources  of  the  Nile  and  the  Niger,  the 
inland  seas  of  Africa,  the  steppes  of  Tartair,  the  forests 
of  Australia,  tracked  by  European  footsteps, — but  it  was  the 
great  German  traveler,  whose  loss  has  but  lately  come  home 
to  the  world  like  a  bereavement  of  the  race,  who  gave  his  early 
manhood  to  scientific  explorations  in  both  portions  of  our  own 
continent.  Even  within  our  own  days,  the  northern  shores 
even  of  America  have  been  traced  and.  delineated  by  English 
geographers,  and  we  Americans  left  until  a  late  date  far  in 
the  background  as  regards  the  geography  of  our  own  hemis- 
phere. The  very  last  expedition  which  visited  Arctic  shores, 
and  brought  back  the  solution  of  the  sad  problem  which  the 
lapse  of  eight  years  had  but  rendered  more  intricate,  sailed 
from  trans- Atlantic  shores.  It  was  equipped  by  trans- Atlan- 
tic hands,  and  through  trans-Atlantic  contributions.  We 
Americans  now  owe  it  to  the  world  and  to  ourselves  to  prose- 
cute these  researches. 

It  is  easy  for  any  one  man  to  disavow  responsibilities  which 
belong  to  his  race,  and  disclaim  any  personal  liability  for  the 
indebtedness  of  his  nation;  but  the  race  and  the  nation  are 
made  up  of  individuals,  and  chiefly,  too,  of  such  as  are  inca- 
pable of  contributing  to  such  enterprises.  Whoever  does 
contribute,  wins  a  claim  upon  the  gratitude  of  his  fellow-men, 
and  of  those  who  shall  live  after  liim;  and  I  rejoice  at  the 
cause  for  pride  which  all  Americans  may  feel  at  the  prominent 
relief  in  which  one  honored  name  from  your  city  already 
stands  emblazoned.  It  is  eminently  fitting  that  tlie  enter- 
prise now  contemplated  should  originate  in  the  great  com- 
mercial center  of  our  land,  and  appeal  to  the  commercial  men 


12 


'  i 


il:i 


of  that  city  for  much  aid,  since  commerce  is  debtor  to  geog- 
raphy and  to  exploration.  And  among  a  people  which  is  far 
from  ashamed  to  avow  itself  "  a  nation  of  tradesmen,"  it  is  to 
those  whom  commerce  has  made  capable  of  rendering  aid 
that  science  must  look  for  support. 

The  route  proposed  by  Dr.  Hayes,  through  Smith  Strait 
and  Kennedy  Channel,  and  the  spot  selected  by  him  for  win- 
tering, seem  most  judicious;  and  there  appears  to  be  every 
reason  for  confidence  that  the  expedition  proposed  would 
result  in  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  open  polar  sea,  its 
boundaries,  and  approaches,  as  well  as  in  much  otlier  service 
to  science. 

With  cordial  wishes  for  the  success  of  this  enterprise,  and 
for  the  speedy  and  thorough  equipment  of  Dr.  Hayes  and  his 
party,  and  with  kindest  regards, 

I  am,  my  Dear  Sir, 

Most  faithfully  yours, 

B.  A.  GOULD. 


I' 


FROM   PROFESSOR  A.   GUYOT,  LL.D. 


Princeton,  N.  J.,  Marc%  20, 1860. 
To  Daniel  W.  Fiske, 

Secretary  of  the  American  Geographical  Society. 

Dear  Sir: — I  have  just  received  the  invitation  that  you 
sent  to  me  in  behalf  of  the  Committee  of  the  American  Geo- 
graphical Society  on  Arctic  Exploration,  to  be  present  at  the 
meeting  to  be  held  on  Tlmrsday  next,  22d,  for  tiie  purpose  of 
devising  means  to  aid  Dr.  Hayes  in  his  plans  for  continuing 
the  researches  of  Dr  Kane.  1  much  regret  that  my  duties 
absolutely  preclude  the  possibility  of  my  complying  with  the 
wishes  of  the  Committee.  At  the  request  of  one  of  their 
members,  I  expressed  in  a  letter  to  him  my  views  on  the  pro- 
posed expedition,  and  I  beg  to  refer  to  it  for  further  details. 
1  beg  leave  only  to  repeat  here,  in  a  few  words,  what  I  said 
there,  viz  :  that,  though  there  may  be  a  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  the  best  way  of  obtaining  the  proposed  end,  I  fully  rec- 
ognize the  duty,  of  our  scientific  age,  of  investigating  all  parts 
ot  our  globe,  with  the  hope  of  an  immediate  practical  advan- 
tage ;  and  when  a  man  of  pure  enthusia^iin  for  scientific  resear- 
ches comes  to  us  spontaneously,  as  Dr.  Hayes  does,  and  ofters 
to  submit  himself  to  the  certain  sufferings  attending  such  an 


'\ 


18 


It 


undertaking,  and  to  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  life  for  advan- 
cing our  knowledge  of  these  unapproachable  polar  regions, 
we  are  bound  to  honor  him,  to  aid  nim,  and  to  give  him  the 
hearty  God-speed  which  is  due  to  every  noble  and  disinter- 
ested enterprise. 

I  remain,  Dear  Sir,  very  tnily  yours, 

A.  GUYOT. 


FBOM  BAYAKD  TAYLOR. 


and 


Bath,  N.  T.,  March  19, 1860. 
My  Dear  Sir: 

I  regret  exceedingly  that  I  shall  be  absent  from  !New  York 
during  the  occurrence  of  the  meetings  for  the  support  of  your 
proposed  expedition.  Knowing  your  plan  of  exploration,  I 
nave  entire  taith  in  its  feasibility,  and  should  be  glad  to  con- 
tribute my  share  in  recommending  it  to  the  public.  In  a  long 
conversation  which  I  had  with  Dr.  Kane  during  my  last  inter- 
view with  him,  he  communicated  to  me  his  views  witii  regard 
to  an  exploration  of  the  open  Polar  Sea,  (the  existence  of 
which,  to  my  mind,  does  not  admit  of  a  doubt,)  and  proposed 
a  plan  very  similar  to  that  which  you  have  adopted. 

While  in  Lapland  in  1857,  Mr.  Berger,  a  Ilammerfest  mer- 
chant, assured  me  that  he  had  penetrated  to  latitude  84  de- 
grees on  his  voyage  in  search  ol  seal  and  walrus,  and  found, 
the  sea  at  that  point  perfectly  clear  of  ice.  Tliere  are  un- 
doubtedly summers  when  the  ice-belt  stretching  across  from 
Greenland  to  Spitzbergen  is  broken  up,  leaving  an  open  pas- 
sage to  the  Pole ;  but  the  disadvantage  of  this  route  consists 
in  there  being  no  winter  quarters  from  which  sledge  parties 
could  be  pushed  forward  to  any  considerable  distance.  Smith's 
Sound  undoubtedly  oifers  the  safest  and  most  practicable  route 
for  approaching  the  central  Polar  Sea ;  among  which  advan- 
tages, not  the  least  i.s  the  opportunity  of  a  safe  return. 

From  my  own  slight  experience  of  an  arctic  winter,  I 
know  how  readily  the  rigors  of  the  climate  may  be  endured 
so  long  as  the  mind  is  kept  active  and  cheerful  by  the  jiursuit 
of  an  important  object.  Your  own  capacity  in  this  respect 
has  been  fully  tested  already ;  and  should  you  succeed,  as  I 
most  earnestiy  hope,  in  departing  this  year  on  your  great  and 
heroic  errand,  I  for  one  will  look  forward  with  confidence, 
both  to  your  success  and  to  your  return. 

Very  truly  yours,  Bayard  Taylor. 


u 


Mi 


The  presiding  Vice-President,  before  introducing  Dr. 
Hates  to  the  audience,  remarked  that  the  action  of  the  Geo- 
graphical Society  in  aiding  the  proposed  expedition  to  the 
Arctic  seas,  was  strictly  within  the  province  of  its  legitimate 
duties.  It  was  but  following  the  example  of  the  European 
Societies  in  similar  cases,  not  to  say  its  own  example  in  regard 
to  the  lamented  Dr.  Kane,  whose  enterprise  was  commenced 
under  the  auspices  of  this  Society.  Hiat  gallant  and  accom- 
plished navigator  has  conferred  luster  on  the  American  name, 
and  as  his  countrymen  we  may  be  proud  of  his  well- 
merited  fame.  But  Dr.  Kane  was  unable,  in  conse- 
quence of  unexpected  obstacles,  to  accomplish  fully  the 
objects  of  his  last  expedition  ;  and  his  companion.  Dr.  Hayes, 
not  less  intrepid  and  energetic  than  his  lamented  commander, 
now  proposes  to  complete  what  he  had  begun,  by  penetrating 
beyond  Kennedy's  Sound  into  the  Polar  Sea,  and  thus  reach- 
ing the  North  Pole  itself. 

It  is  well  known  that  these  arctic  voyages  are  attended 
with  much  less  risk  and  danger  than  formerly.  "Within  the 
short  space  of  twelve  years,  an  immense  improvement  has  been 
made  in  various  respects,  both  in  regard  to  protection  against 
disease  by  proper  food,  and  the  knowledge  of  traversing  those 
inhospitable  regions.  Every  summer  some  of  our  whalers  go 
within  one  hundred  miles  of  Smith's  Strait,  where  Dr.  Kane 
was  so  long  imprisoned  by  the  ice.  Had  he  taken  the  route 
by  the  west  instead  of  the  east  side  of  that  Strait,  he  would 
have  found  open  water,  and  would  have,  no  doubt,  accom- 
plished what  Dr.  Hayes  now  proposes  to  attempt.  A  few 
days  since,  at  a  meeting  of  this  Society  at  its  rooms,  one  of 
these  whaling  captains  favored  us  with  an  account  of  his 
labors  in  that  quarter  of  the  arctic  regions,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  an  Esquimaux,  perhaps  the  only  one  who  has  been 
seen  in  this  city  for  many  years.  Capt.  Buddington  informed 
us  that  he  had  spent  a  year  among  the  Esquimaux,  without 
any  great  privation  or  hardship. 

But  it  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  into  the  discussion  of 
the  points,  which  will  be  fully  examined  and  clearly  treated 


T^SMiJSIII 


■WWW 


15 


icing  Dr. 
f  the  6eo- 
on  to  the 
legitimate 
European 
in  regard 
tnnienced 
d  aceom- 
an  name, 
ilia  well- 
i    conse- 
ully  the 
•  Hayes, 
mander, 
etrating 
8  reach- 

ttended 
hin  tlie 
w  been 
igainst 
r  those 
ers  go 

Kane 

route 
would 
Bcom- 
^  few 
neof 
•f  his 
Gom- 
been 
•med 
hout 

•n  of 
ited 


by  others  this  evening — the  learned  and  scientific  persons 
■who  are  to  address  you,  and  especially  by  Dr.  Hayes  himself, 
the  undaunted  and  intelligent  navigator,  whom  I  now  have 
the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you. 


ADDBESB  OF  DB.   HAYES. 


Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

It  is  now  a  little  more  than  four  years  since  Dr.  Eane  re- 
turned from  the  North,  reporting  the  discovery  of  an  open  Polar 
Sea.  Physicists  had  long  oefore  oeen  generally  agreed  that  such 
a  scL  probably  existed ;  and  the  northern  coasts  of  Europe,  Asia 
and  America  having  been  determined  with  considerable  ac- 
curacy, it  was  assumed  that  the  great  body  of  water  which 
they  invested  was  mainly  free  from  land,  ana  hence,  being  free 
from  all  centers  of  ice  accumulation,  must  be  mainly  open,  at 
least  during  the  summer.  The  first  substantial  confirmation 
of  this  theory  was  obtained  by  the  Russians,  who,  imder  He- 
denstrom,  in  1810-11,  and  again  under  Anjou  and  Wrangell, 
in  1820-24,  discovered  an  extensive  open  area,  or  polynia,  to 
the  northward  of  the  New  Siberian  Islands.  It  was  left  to 
our  countrvman,  Dr.  Kane,  to  bring  from  an  opposite  meridian 
more  conclusive  proof,  and  his  researches  assume  the  dignity 
of  a  great  discovery. 

I  have,  on  a  previous  occasion,  dwelt  minutely  upon  the 
results  of  the  second  Grinnell  expedition,  and  I  will  not  now 
detain  you  with  a  discussion  of  their  importance. 

My  design  is  to  bring  more  prominently  to  your  notice 
than  I  have  done  hitherto,  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  ex- 
pedition which  I  propose  to  conduct  to  the  field  of  explora- 
tion which  Dr.  Kane  was  the  first  to  enter,  with  the  view  of 
continuing  the  researches  which  he  so  admirably  began  :  to 
add  to  his  observations  upon  the  Polar  Sea ;  to  complete  the 
survey  of  the  northern  coasts  of  Greenland  and  Grinnell  Land ; 
and,  over  the  ivjeless  waters  which  He  beyond  them,  to  reach 
the  north  pole  of  the  earth.  In  order  tnat  you  may  clearly 
comprehend  the  nature  of  the  proposed  attempt,  and  the 
grounds  upon  which  are  based  my  expectations  of  success,  I 
will  ask  your  attention  to  the  rude  diagram  upon  the  wall, 
exhibiting  the  Arctic  regions  in  circumpolar  projection. 

By  an  examination  of  the  latitudes  you  will  perceive  that 
the  Arctic  Ocean  has  a  mean  diameter  of  about  2,500  English 


10 


miles ;  and,  rudely  estimated,  an  area  of  6,000,000  of  square 
miles.  Tlie  lands  investing  this  extensive  basin  form  tlio 
Bouthern  marcin  of  a  great  ice-belt,  which  is  continuous 
across  the  various  channels  connecting  the  Arctic  with  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans ;  thus  surrounding  the  region  ad- 
jacent to  the  pole  with  a  frozen  annulus. 

Dr.  Kane,  whose  first  voyage  as  surgeon  of  the  expedition 
under  Lieut.  De  Haven,  in  1850,  had  given  to  him  some  im- 
portant information  upon  the  currents  and  ice-movements  of 
Baffin  Bay,  carefully  collated  such  accounts  as  had  been 
published  respecting  the  various  efforts  to  penetrate  the  ice 
barrier ;  and  he  thus  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  true 
route  lay  up  the  theretofore  unexplored  Smith  Strait,  which 
opens  at  the  head  of  the  Bay. 

To  America  is  due  the  credit  of  having  reduced  the  evi- 
dence to  practical  results.  Tlie  second  Grinnell  expedition, 
begun  in  1853,  added  new  proofs  to  those  previously  known, 
in  favor  of  the  route  by  Smith  Strait;  and  at  the  present 
time  there  is  sufficient  warrant  for  asserting  that  it  is  bv  this 
channel  that  the  polo  is  to  be  reached.  It  is  true  that,  in  this 
direction,  the  ice-belt  is  broader  than  at  any  other  point ;  but 
this  fact  gives  to  the  route  peculiar  advantages,  since  the 

f)olar  current,  setting  rapidly  to  the  south  througii  Baffin  Bay, 
oosens  the  ice,  and  opens  passages  through  it,  such  as  are  not 
found  to  the  same  extent  in  other  quarters  where  the  direction 
of  the  current  is  northerly. 

Although  ice  is  often  met  in  the  line  of  Baffin  Bay  as  low  as 
the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  yet  no  serious  obstruction  to  navi- 
gation is  presented  until  we  have  reached  the  latitude  of  Uper- 
navik,72°  40';  and,  beyond  this,  whale  ships  penetrate  annually, 
and  with  little  risk,  as  far  as  latitude  76°,  in  order  to  get  to 
their  fishing-grounds  about  the  mouth  of  Lancaster  Sound. 
Between  the  highest  latitude  attained  by  the  whalers  and 
Smith  Strait,  the  water  is  mainly  free  during  the  summer,  and 
the  distance,  not  exceeding  150  miles,  is  readily  traversed. 

Dr.  Kane's  eflforts  in  this  direction  were  experimental,  and 
his  winter  harbor  was  selected  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
channel,  in  latitude  78°  37." 

His  subsequent  explorationsprovedhispositionto  have  been 
an  unfavorable  one ;  for  he  was  exposed  to  the  full  force  of 
the  polar  current,  which  comes  down  from  the  north  through 
the  newly-discovered  Channel  of  Kennedy.  Tlie  ice  carried 
down  by  this  current  not  only  prevented  his  release,  but,  in 
consequence  of  the  obstruction  presented  by  the  land,  it  was 
broken  into  hummocks  to  the  northward,  which  rendered 


ir 


travelinff  in  that  direction  excessively  laborious.  The  same 
cause  which  operates  to  force  the  ice  upon  the  Greenland  coast 
will  free  the  coast  of  Grinnell  Land.  Upon  visiting  this 
shore  in  the  spring  of  1 854, 1  found  a  smooth  sheet  of  ice 
extending  along  the  land  as  far  up  as  latitude  80°.  Tliis  ice 
was  of  but  one  winter's  freezing,  and  hence,  upon  the  closing 
in  of  the  winter  of  1853-54  there  was  open  water  as  far  as 
that  parallel.  It  is  the  knowledge  of  this  tact  which  leads  mo 
to  believe  that  a  much  higher  latitude  can  bo  attained  on  the 
western  side  of  the  strait  than  on  the  eastern.  Beyond  Cape 
Frazer,  lat.  79"  42',  the  coast  trends  almost  due  north,  and  the 
current,  flowing  through  the  channel  without  obstruction, 
will,  no  doubt,  leave  the  ice  smooth  and  favorable  for  sledge 
oi)eration8.  It  is  upon  the  coast  of  Grinnell  Land  that  I  will 
secure  a  harbor;  and,  as  already  observed,  I  have  every  con- 
fidence that  a  vessel  can  be  taken  along  this  shore  with  ease 
and  safety,  nearly  to  the  80th  parallel. 

The  first  summer  will  be  exhausted  in  reaching  this  locality, 
and  the  winter  will  close  around  us  early  in  September.  From 
this  time  until  the  first  of  the  following  March  we  will  remain 
inactive.  Upon  the  earliest  return  ot  sunlight  the  advance 
parties  will  be  sent  forward,  and,  by  means  of  dog  sledges, 

Provision  dep6ts  will  be  established  at  available  points  along 
le  land.  These  parties  will  be  followed  by  the  main  expe- 
dition for  the  exploration  of  the  Polar  Sea.  A  boat,  mount- 
ed on  runners,  will  be  transported  over  the  ice  until  we  have- 
reached  the  object  of  our  search,  when,  if  such  fortune  awaits 
us,  we  will  launch  our  little  vessel  upon  the  unknown  waters, 
and,  bidding  God-speed,  will  push  off  directly  for  the  Pole. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  enter  into  the  details  of  such  a 
general  plan  of  operations,  in  order  to  demonstrate  its  feasi- 
bility. The  experience  of  Dr.  Kane's  parties,  and  the  extensive 
journeys  of  the  English  explorers,  are  fresh  in  your  recollec- 
tion. A  team  of  seven  dogs  will  readily  dra^  from  600  to 
800  pounds  weight  upon  a  sledge,  and  they  will  average  in 
speed  from  thirty  to  forty  miles  per  day,  upon  a  ration  of 
thirteen  ounces  of  pemican.  Tliat  a  boat  may  be  transported 
over  the  ice  is  shown  by  the  experience  of  Parry,  Kane,  and 
others.  Tlie  success  and  safety  of  the  journey  across  the 
polar  waters  depends  upon  the  skill  with  which  the  vessel  is 
managed.  An  ordinary  whale-boat,  well  manned,  is  as  secure 
as  any  ship  that  rides  the  sea. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  we  shall  meet  the  open  water.    If  the 
season  is  backward,  its  southern  margin  may  not  extend  as 
far  south  as  the  point  at  which  it  was  discovered  by  Dr.  Kane ;, 
2 


18 


but  I  do  not  anticipate  that,  in  any  case,  onr  sledgo  travel  will 
be  extended  further  north  than  lat.  82".  Beyond  tliis  latitude 
there  are,  as  already  observed,  conclusive  reasons  for  believ- 
ing that  an  open  sea  exists.  The  land  does  not,  in  all  proba- 
bility, extend  far  beyond  the  parallel  mentioned ;  and  all  ex- 
perience shows  that  it  is  only  near  the  land  that  we  find  the 
arctic  waters  completely  closed. 

It  is,  indeed,  not  too  much  to  sav  that  so  large  a  silrface  of 
water  as  the  Arctic  ocean  can  not  be  frozen  over,  even  during 
the  winter ;  and  with  the  advance  of  summer  the  ice  rapidly 
dissolves.  The  great  body  of  the  waters  of  the  Arctic  ocean 
have  a  temperature  considerably  above  freezing ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  frigorific  effect  of  the  atmosphere  is  removed,  the  warm 
influences  from  beneath  operate  upon  the  ice  and  soon  waste 
it  away.  Besides,  during  the  summer  the  ice  is  discharged 
by  the  great  polar  currents  of  the  Greenland  sea,  and  tliis 
must  alone  operate  to  free  a  large  area  about  the  pole. 

The  difficulties  presented  by  this  line  of  exploration  seem 
to  me  to  have  ueen  much  over-estimated  by  persons  who,  not 
familiar  with  the  region,  have  written  and  spoken  upon  the 
subject.  Indeed,  by  the  experience  of  three  centuries,  the 
obstacles  presented  by  the  ice,  the  cold,  and  the  scurvy,  are 
readily  overcome.  Whale-ships  visit  those  seas  annually, 
and,  as  before  stated,  pass  within  a  short  distance  of  tlie 
seat  of  proposed  operations.  During  the  past  twelve  years 
the  search  ships  liave  penetrated  the  Baffin-Bay  ice,  and 
wrecks  are  of  very  rare  occurrence.  The  cold  has  been 
abundantly  proved  to  be  no  obstacle  to  successful  travel. 

The  scurry  is  more  readilv  resisted  in  the  arctic  climate 
than  in  any  other,  provided  the  recent  discoveries  in  the  art 
of  preserving  food  are  fully  availed  of.  From  all  causes 
combined,  the  mortality  on  board  of  vessels  visiting  the 
Arctic  seas  during  the  past  twelve  years,  has  been  less  than 
three  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  persons  engaged. 
Several  ships  have  wintered  in  the  ice  without  the  occurrence 
of  a  single  case  of  scurvy. 

I  coine  now  to  speak  of  the  uriLnr  of  the  proposed  effort. 
Happily,  on  this  head  I  am  spared  any  reflections  of  my  own. 
The  subject  has  been  maturely  considered  by  the  leading 
scientific  societies  of  the  United  States — ^by  your  own  body,  by 
the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
by  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  by  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  by  the  Philadelphia  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences,  by  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  His- 
tory, and  by  the  New  l''ork  Lyceum  of  Natural  History ;  and 


10 

their  conclusions,  expressed  by  a  larco  number  of  our  most 
eminent  citizens,  are  to  the  effect,  tliat  tlie  objects  contem- 
plated are  not  only  important  to  mankind,  but  are  such  as  to 
warrant  a  full  sanction  and  hearty  encouragement  of  the  pro- 
ject. I  will  merely  state  that,  besides  the  survey  and  explor- 
ation of  the  Polar  Sea  and  its  adjacent  lands,  the  proposed 
line  of  exploration  covers  a  field  in  which  the  solution  of  im- 
portant questions  of  magnetism,  and  meteorology,  and  of  na- 
tural history  can  certainly  be  effected.  Indeed,  there  is  no 
department  of  physical  science  to  which  valuable  results  may 
not  bo  contributed. 

I  am  fully  aware  of  the  peculiar  causes  which  have  tended 
to  mislead  the  public  mind  in  relation  to  the  dangers  of 
arctic  exploration.  Tliese  causes  justify  the  hesitation  which 
was  felt  in  former  years ;  but  now  that  the  truth  has  been 
made  known  by  so  many  reliable  observers ;  now  that  the 
means  of  travel  have  been  so  fully  perfected,  and  the  facili- 
ties for  promoting  health  and  comfort  have  become  so  well 
determined, — is  it  too  sanguine  a  disposition  which  leads  me  to 
believe  that  I  shall  see  again  the  little  flag  which,  in  1854, 1 
planted  upon  the  coast  of  Grinnell  Land  f  or  to  hope  that  it 
may  even  be  my  fortune  to  carry  it  thence  to  the  point  of 
extreme  northness  ? 


The  Chair  then  presented  Mr.  Egbert  L.  Yifle,  Chairman 
of  the  Special  Committee  of  the  Society  on  Arctic  Explora- 
tion, who  read  the  following — 


REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE. 


The  Special  Committee  appointed  to  co-operate  with  Dr. 
Hayes  in  his  plan  for  an  expedition  to  the  Polar  Sea,  respect- 
fully report  that  they  have  given  to  the  subject  that  attention 
which  its  importance  demands ;  and,without  recapitulating  the 
arguments  m  its  favor,  which  have  been  already  fully  set 
forth  in  previous  reports  submitted  to  the  Society,. they  unani- 
mously recommend  that  active  exertions  be  made  at  once  to 
enable  the  expedition  to  sail  this  spring.  The  great  interest 
which  has  been  manifested  by  men  of  science,  and  by  a  large 
number  of  American  citizens,  in  the  success  of  the  expedi- 
tion, leads  to  the  hope  that  the  necessary  funds  will  be  con- 


tributcd  in  time  for  the  organization  of  the  Bmnll  party  which 
will  be  MutHeiunt  to  solve  the  problem  which  has  for  flo  long 
a  time  occupied  the  attention  of  geographers  throughout  the 
civilized  world.  There  can  bo  no  nue»tion  that  itH  solution, 
by  an  Atnerieau  expedition,  will  add  to  our  national  reputa- 
tion. The  means  lor  accomplishing  success  are  so  simple, 
and  the  end  to  be  attained  so  full  of  valuable  results,  that  wo 
feel  assured  that  an  appeal  to  the  love  of  science,  and  the 
patriotism  of  our  citizens,  cannot  be  disregarded.  Tlie  Com- 
mittee have,  therefore,  prepared  a  paper  to  be  signed  by  those 
who  may  be  disposed  to  become  the  patrons  of  the  expedi- 
tion, which  will  be  circulated  at  once,  and  to  which  the  Com- 
mittee would  ask  the  earnest  attention  of  all  who  feel  a  just 
pride  in  the  advancement  of  our  national  character. 


KoHKKT   L.    ViKLK, 

Auou.sT  JJklmont, 
Fkancis  Likbkk, 

Gi:oKOK   FoLSOM, 
BkNJAMIX    n.    FlKLD, 

IIknuy  E.  Pikkkkpont, 
CuAULKs  p.  Daly, 
LrniKK  BnADirtn, 
Jamks  L.  Graham,  Jk., 
Matthicw  Mokoan, 


IIenky  Grinnell, 
Cyrus  W.  Fikld, 
Pktkr  Cooper, 
Marshall  Leffeuts, 
Hamilton  Fish, 
Charles  Kino, 
John  D.  Jones, 
George  F.  Woodward, 
John  D.  Clute, 
Georue  Opdyke. 


Mr.  YiELE,  after  reading  the  Report,  made  a  few  remarks, 
lie  said : — 

Permit  me,  Sir,  to  add,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee,  that 
the  j)re8enco  here  this  evening  of  so  large  a  number  of  our 
fellow-citizens  evinces  the  public  interest  which  this  subject 
has  excited,  and  encourages  the  belief  that  our  most  sanguine 
hopes  of  the  early  organization  of  this  expedition  will  be 
fully  realized.  If,  Sir,  there  are  those  who,  exaggerating  in 
their  minds  tl;e  dangers  and  privations  of  former  expeditions, 
refuse  their  countenance  to  this  one  on  the  score  of  humanity, 
I  beg  them  to  remember  th  \t  this  expedition  in  its  going  and 
its  comii  r,  will  be  guided  by  the  light  of  experience.  Nor 
should  t),  y  forget  that  Arctic  pioneers  have  suffered  no  more 
than  tht  who  first  mapped  out  our  Western  wilds,  where 
now  reso;  ds  the  hum  of  busy  industry.  Why,  Sir,  the  ad- 
ventures c  Pike,  and  Long,  and  of  Bonneville,  whose  steps 
have  been  lustrated  by  the  pen  of  an  Irving,  of  Lewis,  and 
Clarke,  aj  ^ear  now  to  be  the  bight  of  fiction ;  that  rocky 
alpine  ridj^e,  seeming  to  sever  a  continent,  which  until  a  few 


!  t 


II  party  wliich 
as  for  8o  long 
iroiigliout  the 
t  itH  solution, 
ional  reputn- 
o  so  siinplo, 
"Its,  that  wo 
'CO,  and  tho 
TIio  Corn- 
rjcd  by  those 
the  expedi- 
'!>  the  Com- 
>  feel  a  just 
3r. 

KLD, 

l-^KEKTS, 
", 

8, 
'ODWARD, 


remarks. 


ttee,  that 
er  of  our 
B  subject 
sanguine 
will  be 
fttiiiff  in 

editions, 
manity, 
'^ng  and 
3.    JVor 
10  more 
»  where 
tho  ad- 
0  steps 
is,  and 

Tocky 

a  few 


n 


cast  back  defiant   gliado 


tho  footfitcpfl  of 


sliort  years  r 

civilization,  lias  been  Hubdued  by  the  hardy  hunter  and  ad- 
venturous pi<»necr,  anjid  more  than  arctic  perils.  Tjimu^di 
its  defiles  and  its  jfor^cs  our  little  army  has  borne  the  KnjLfle 
and  the  Stars;  and  tlic  emigrant  follows  their  trail,  and  even 
the  mother  with  her  babe  in  arms,  journeys  alonp  the  road  so 
full  of  j)eril8  to  the  first  explorers,  the  history  of  whose  suf- 
ferings fades  into  dim  ronumce.  If,  8ir,  it  shall  be  asked 
what  is  to  be  the  practical  result  of  the  expcditicm,  I  Mould 
answer,  the  same  rosidt  that  England  expected  when  she 
equij)j>ed  the  splendid  expedition  under  Sir  John  Franklin,  to 
solve  the  j>roblem  of  the  North-west  Passage.  The  question 
had  long  become  a  purely  geographical  one,  and  that  expe- 
dition was  the  tribute  of  a  generous  and  eidightened  govern- 
ment to  science  ai.J  to. a  just  nati<mal  pride;  and  I  may  add 
that,  of  all  her  heroes  by  sea  or  by  land,  Englund  has  no 
prouder  names  than  those  who  won  their  laurel  wreaths 
among  the  floes  and  icebergs  of  the  Arctic  Sea.  No  wonder 
if  there  should  be  a  little  jealousy  there  of  the  American 
flag.  If  the  American  Geographical  Society  hesitate  to  send 
out  this  expedition,  we  shall  deprive  our  country  and  our 
countrymen  of  its  and  their  share  ni  a  glorious  field  of  science 
and  honor. 

The  fund  for  the  expedition  has  now  reached  tho  sum  of 
$10,000,  and  as  evidence  of  the  deep  interest  that  men  of 
science  take  in  the  subject,  I  may  announce  that  Professor 
liache  and  Professor  Ilenry  have  contributed  the  sum  of 
$1,000  each ;  and  I  may  also  mention  among  the  liberal  con- 
tributors, Mr.  Henry  Orinnell,  Mr.  Cyrus  W.  Field,  Mr. 
George  Folsom,  Mr.  Benjamin  II.  Field.  Mr.  Grinnell  has 
kindly  consented  to  act  as  Treasurer  of  the  fund. 


At  the  close  of  Mr.  Viele's  remarks,  the  presiding  Yicc- 
Presidcnt  introduced  to  the  audience  Professor  Benjamin  Sil- 
LiMAN,  Jr.,  of  Yale  College,  who  said  that  this  scientific 
undertaking  had  all  the  elements  of  success.  A  definite  plan 
had  been  laid  down,  and  successful  explorers  were  ready  to 
puvr.ue  that  plan.  All  that  was  wanting  was  the  means, 
which  he  hoped  would  not  be  Avithheld.  The  dangers  of  an 
arctic  voyage  were  not  near  as  great  as  they  were  supposed 
to  be.  With  improved  instruments  and  valuable  experience, 
the  project,  with  the  help  of  Providence,  would  succeed. 


I   : 


22 


i      I 


Professor  O.  M.  Mitchel  next  stated  to  the  Society  his 
views  in  connection  with  the  important  subject  under  consid- 
eration. He  dwelt  upon  the  scientific  utility  of  such  an 
expedition  as  was  proposed,  and  upon  the  great  necessity  of 
immediately  furnishing  the  amount  needed  by  Dr.  Hayes. 
He  said  that  we,  who  stayed  at  home,  should  be  willing  to 
furnish  aid  to  men  of  bold  hearts  and  scientific  enthusiasm 
who  were  willing  to  undergo  the  fatigue  and  perils  incident 
to  so  distant  a  voyage. 

The  Cliair  tlien  introduced  to  the  Society  Fkancis  Likbeb, 
LL.  D.,  of  Columbia  College. 

ADDRESS  OF  DE.   LIEBER. 


AVe  are  all  familiar  with  Kane's  account  of  his  Arctic  ex- 
ploration, which  reads  like  an  epic  whose  theme  is  the  Forti- 
tude and  Perseverance  of  Man,  wrestling  with  Nature  herself 
in  her  own  fortified  home,  where  she  has  ruled  with  undis- 
puted power  in  proud  disdain  of  our  restless  race.  The  Smith- 
sonian Institution  is  in  the  very  act  of  publishing  the  magnetic 
and  meteorologic  results  of  that  enterprise  ;  and  while  many 
of  us  are  engaj^^J  in  collecting  means  to  erect  in  our  city  a 
monuUient  in  honor  of  Kane,  a  companion  of  his  in  suffering 
and  struggle — one  of  those  vikings  of  science — presents  him- 
self and  asks  us  to  assist  him.  What  does  he  desire  of  us? 
What  does  he  oflfer  ?    What  is  his  object  ? 

Dr.  Hayes  simply  offers  khnself—his  energies,  his  life; 
he  simply  asks  of  us  a  craft  to  sail  in,  and  food  and  fur  for  his 
companions,  and  he  does  this  in  order  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of 
science,  to  add  one  more  discovery  to  the  history  of  our  ad- 
vancement, one  more  victory  to  the  annals  of  human  progress, 
or,  if  Providence  has  so  decreed  it,  one  more  name  to  the  list 
of  the  martyrs  of  knowledge  and  civilization.  He  is  a  soldier 
who  asks  for  arms  that  he  may  fight  for  us ;  the  rest  he  gives 
himself. 

What  shall  we  say  ?  What  answer  shall  we  make  ?  He 
stands  at  our  door,  we  must  either  bid  him  go  his  way,  or  else 
tell  him  to  enter  that  we  may  devise,  with  him,  the  means  for 
his  Arctic  pilgrimage.  What  say  you  ?  Shall  wo  side  with 
Plato,  who  grandly  speaks  of  man's  divine  curiosity,  that  attri- 
bute of  humanity  which  makes  us  yearn  for  knowledge,  and 
fills  the  noblest  souls  with  a  burning  zeal  to  know,  and  to 


it 


23 


know  more  and  more,  and  to  press  on  farther  and  farther,  that 
divine  curiosity  which  inflamed  all  Europe  at  that  wonderful 
period  of  maritime  discoveries  to  which  we  now  owe  our  very 
existence  as  Americans?  Obliterate  this  divine  curiosity 
from  our  souls  and  there  is  an  end  to  advancement,  to  culture, 
to  nobleness  of  purpose,  yes,  even  to  a  common  life  of  ease  or 
comfort  for  the  many.  Strike  out  this  divine  curiosity  in  the 
history  of  our  race,  and  we  would  know  of  no  Henry  the  Nav- 
igator planning  and  directing  from  his  retired  palace  at  Sa- 
gres  the  successive  discoveries  of  headland  after  headland 
along  the  coast  of  Africa  until  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  at 
length  was  doubled,  and  the  European  mind  gathered  strength 
to  dare  a  greater  discovery  ;  we  would  have  no  Nineteentli 
Century  graced  alike  by  tracing  laws  in  the  material  world, 
and  by  working  the  mines  of  the  past,  proving  consecutive- 
ness  and  cohesion  in  the  advancement  oi  our  race.  Shall  we 
forget  that 

"  The  8overeij»n8  of  this  earth,  for  good,  for  ill. 
The  strong  triumvirate,  are  Thought,  Love,  Will  ?" 

Shall  we  side  with  Plato,  or  shall  we  take  for  our  spokes- 
man that  Oriental  who  wrote  tne  meinorable  and  typical 
letter  to  Layard,  when  the  Englishman,  urged  by  divine  curi- 
osity, asked  his  assistance  m  disemboweling  Babylonian 
grandeur  from  the  dark  and  deeply  sunken  past  ?  Shall  we 
answer  our  petitioner  as  Christians  that  prize,  beside,^  holy 
affections,  above  all  things  intellectuality  and  spirituality  ;  or 
sliall  we  say  to  Hayes  as  the  Mussulman  wrote  to  Layard  : — 

"  The  thinnj  thou  askest  of  me  is  both  diflicult  and  useless. 
*  *  *  Seek  not  after  the  things  which  concern  thee  not. 
Go  in  peace.  Of  a  truth  thou  hast  spoken  many  words,  and 
tliere  is  no  harm  done,  for  the  speaker  is  one  and  the  listener 
is  another.  *  *  *  Shall  one  say  this  star  spinneth  around 
that  star,  and  this  other  star  with  a  tail  goeth  and  cometh  in 
so  many  years  'i  Let  it  go  !  Thou  art  learned  in  many  things 
I  care  not  for ;  and,  as  to  that  which  thou  hast  seen,  I  defile 
it.  Will  much  Knowledge  create  thee  a  double  belly  ;  or  wilt 
thou  seek  paradise  with  thine  eyes?" 

You  have  to  decide — Plato  and  a  very  small  portion  of  our 
opulence,  or  the  Oriental  and  his  Asiatic  apathy. 

The  entire  sum  we  stand  in  need  of  in  addition  to  what 
has  already  been  secured,  amounts  to  about  $25,000.  Dr. 
Hayes  says  that  $45,000  would  be  the  very  highest  sum 
required  for  the  completest  outfit,  but  that  he  will  set  out  if 
he  can  get  only  $20,000.    To  this  we  demur.    A  good  and 


I    U  t 


24 

S-v^knoJaT^t^^^^^^^^^  undertaking.    All  cap 

err j- ~i^^"  ■' Css'i?" '" '^i 


l^U  cap. 
Pns,  the 
fead  and 
*8  mucii 
»nd  the 
!r;  and 
f^  to  Jiis 

where 

battle 
d  ley 

they 

oiy  in 
truct- 

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unted 

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-pud- 

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e 

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3 


25 


amount  to  suicide,  thus  to  repeat  these  terrible  expeditions  to 
regions  where  we  know  nothing  can  be  found  but  silent  ice  ? 

AVhat  can  we  gain  by  it  ?  If  this  question  is  meant  in  a 
scientific  sense,  I,  being  no  professed  naturalist,  do  not  ven- 
ture to  answer  it  in  this  place  by  direct  judgment.  I  must 
reply  to  the  question  by  that  intermediate  judgment  by  which 
a  Washington  or  a  Frederic  is  obliged  to  appoint  a  chief 
justice,  or  by  which  we  who  know  little  about  the  mechanism 
of  our  watches  are  nevertheless  fully  able  to  select  a  fair 
watchmaker,  and  to  make  him  deciae  what  is  to  be  done  to 
our  time-pieces.  Each  single  man  can  decide  by  diiect  judg- 
ment on  a  very  few  interests  only.  We  are  social  beings,  de- 
pending upon  one  another  in  every  respect,  physically  no 
more  so  than  intellectually.  I  have  asked,  therefore,  the  coun- 
sel of  a  man  whom  every  one  of  you,  and  of  this  whole  land, 
and  of  Europe,  will  readily  acknowledge  as  a  judge,  more 
competent  than  whom  no  one  can  be  found.  1  have  asked 
A.  Dallas  Bache,  of  Washington,  to  give  me  his  opinion — to 
give  it  so  that  I  might  use  it  publicly,  and  to  write  his  letter 
conscious  of  all  the  responsibility  which  would  naturally 
attach  itself  to  so  serious  a  warrant.  He  sent  me  in  reply 
the  following  letter : 

Coast  Schvict  Ofhce,  March  14,  1860. 
Dear  Doctor: 

I  can  but  think  yonr  estimate  of  the  importance  to  science  of  the  proposed 
Aret  c  Expedition  is  not  beyond  the  mark,  and  trust  tliat  you  will  express  it 
publicly  with  all  the  force  which  you  put  into  probknis  which  interest  you. 
The  question  of  the  open  Poliir  Sea  is  the  great  geographical  question  of  the 
da}',  and  it  should  be  solved  thoroughly,  as  to  place  and  circumstance,  b}'  an 
expedition  from  the  Cuntinent  of  America.  The  unanimity  with  which  men 
of  science  have  spoken  on  this  subject  authorizes  the  strongest  appeal  in  behalf 
of  Dr.  Hayes  and  his  plans.  We  must  know  whether  the  Gulf  Stream,  which 
is  emphatically  the  great  hydrographic  feature  of  our  coast,  returns  to  us  akain 
after  having  given  their  climates  to  the  countries  of  Northwestern  Europe,  and 
how,  and  why,  and  where;  we  must  have  all  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  tide  wave  in  these  inland  icy  seas  removed ;  we  must  have  the 
magnetism  of  these  trans-mngnetie  polar  regions  settled ;  our  knowledge  of 
the  isothermal  lines  beyond  the  pole  of  cold  should  be  made  com|)le!e;  mate- 
rials for  studying  the  ffora  and  fauna  of  that  rcgltm  collected.  IJut  above  all 
is  the  geographical  problem,  and  that  is  of  itself  enough  to  excite  tu  enthusiasm 
in  behalf  of  the  expedition.  I  have  proved  my  sincere  interest  in  the  under- 
taking, my  dear  Doctor,  by  offering  a  part  of  the  slender  means  gathered  from 
the  pursuit  of  science  to  this  object — a  small  sum  in  the  abstract,  but  not  a 
small  one  when  the  sum  sotal  of  my  savings  is  reckoned. 

Yours,  very  respectfully  and  truly,  A.  D.  Bacde. 

To  Dr.  Francis  Lieber. 

So  far  the  letter  of  my  friend.  Does  he  think  the  under- 
taking useless  ?     By  no  means. 

Does  he  speak,  not  only  for  himself,  but  of  "  the  unani- 


ad 


!'■ 


ri' 


mity  of  the  men  of  sicnce,"  in  favor  of  Dr.  Hayes's  plans  ? 
He  does. 

Does  he  point  out  the  great  problems  that  mnst  be  solved, 
and  that  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  solve  ?  He  does : 
he  does  not  occupy  himself  with  the  romantic  heroism  of  the 
expedition. 

Does  he  ardently  wish  that  Dr.  Hayes  may  find  the  neces- 
sary means  ?    He  does. 

Does  he  willingly  share  in  the  responsibility  of  aiding  the 
bold  adventurer  ?  1  es ;  he  offers  his  tribute,  and  gives  us  an 
example. 

Does  he  vaguely  wish  success  to  Dr.  Hayes ;  or  does  he 
speak  with  that  clearness  which  indicates  thorough  reflection 
on  the  subject  ?  His  letter  is  characterized  by  wiat  I  w^ould 
ask  to  call  scientific  manliness. 

Let  us  add  to  the  letter  of  Mr.  Bache,  that  geography, 
after  Humboldt  and  Hitter  have  worked  so  successfully  for  its 
elevation  and  for  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  our  planet, 
may  be  said  to  be  one  of  the  sciences  characterizing  our  age  ; 
and  that,  with  all  acknowledgement  of  the  catholicity  of 
knowledge  and  with  all  our  distaste  of  scientific  or  any  other 
provincialism,  the  very  opposite  to  patriotic  devotion,  this 
question — Is  there  or  is  there  not  a  polar  sea — is  in  some  re- 
spects an  American  problem,  the  solution  of  which  Providence 
seems  to  have  appointed  more  especially  to  us,  Americans  of 
Norse  origin,  that  we  may  offer  it  as  a  sacred  contribution  on 
the  common  altar  of  knowledge  at  which  our  whole  race 
worships  and  sacrifices.  It  almost  appears  to  me,  as  if  to  us 
Americans,  in  this  century,  the  command  had  been  issued  to 
scale  the  home  of  those  dread  Northern  gods  of  our  ancient 
forefathers,  to  conquer  them  with  the  lance  of  knowledge, 
and  to  bring  that  domain  back  to  whom  it  belongs,  to  the 
God  of  truth  and  to  the  God  of  knowledge. 

Were  he  whose  death  we  lately  commemorated  in  this 
Society,  the  Nestor  and  venerable  master  of  physical  science, 
while  yet  among  us — were  he  living,  I  believe,  indeed  I  know, 
that  he  would  subscribe  to  every  word  of  Mr.  Bache,  that  he 
would  urge  us  on,  and  would  say,  God  speed  you,  to  Dr. 
Hayes. 

Here  we  leave  what  we  must  dispose  of  by  intermediate 
jndgment,  and  return  to  that  of  which  we  may  form  our  opin- 
ion by  direct  judgment.  Enterprises  such  as  the  projected 
one  are  useful  in  the  highest  degree.  It  is  useful,  indeed,  for 
a  people  to  see  men  voluntarily  leaving  the  common  pursuit 
of  wealth  and  comfort,  or  of  ordinary  honor,  and  pursue  the 


pati 
to 

fee 

tb| 

as] 

vil 

ti(| 

aa 

W\ 

al| 


Mans  ? 


of 


27 

patli  of  profitless  self-devotion.  Each  addition  of  such  a  name 
to  the  records  of  a  nation,  is  a  substantial  gain  and  national 
profit.  What,  indeed,  were  this  world  of  ours  had  it  not 
teen  for  those  who  follow  ideas  and  inquiries,  because  they 
feel  an  irresistible  and  divine  impulse  to  do  so,  not  because 
they  have  a  definite  and  immediate  use  in  view  ?  In  science 
as  in  architecture.  But  are  there  really  no  distinct  objects  in 
view  ?  Tellurian  magnetism  has  become  one  of  the  mam  ques- 
tions of  this  age ;  and  when  its  knowledge  shall  be  established 
as  a  full  science  it  will  effect  the  solution  of  a  thousand  ques- 
tions of  nature,  of  life,  and  will,  doubtless,  largely  influence 
all  the  afi'airs  of  our  kind.  And  the  promotion  of  this  know- 
ledge is  one  of  the  main  objects  of  this  expedition.  Dr.  Hayes 
goes  in  search  of  living  knowledge,  not  m  search  of  the  dead. 

When  we  are  asked  what  can  be  the  use  of  this  expedition, 
even  if  it  be  crowned  with  the  fullest  success,  it  will  be  well 
to  bring  clearer  before  our  minds  certain  laws  of  progress,  and 
certain  facts  connected  with  the  advancement  of  knowledge. 
Those  that  I  desire  to  mention  here  in  connection  with  our 
great  argument,  are  four  in  number.  Tliere  is  such  a  concat- 
enation, or,  we  should  rather  say,  a  network  of  all  know- 
ledge, no  matter  to  what  branch  or  sphere  it  belongs,  that 
each  mesh  is  connected  with  the  otiier,  however  remote.  All 
knowledge  is  inter-efficacious.  All  knowledge,  so  that  it  be 
truth,  acts  like  the  breeze  on  our  atmosphere.  However  slight, 
it  affects  successively  the  whole  body  of  air,  and  gives  fresh- 
ness to  our  breathing. 

The  second  law  may  be  stated  thus,  that  all  knowledge  in 
order  to  be  useful  must  be  far  in  advance  of  its  application. 
It  requires  the  comprehensive  science  of  astronomy  to  produce 
those  few  formulas  which  are  used  by  the  navigator,  and  to 
teach  him  how  they  can  be  applied  with  confiding  reliance. 
A  teacher  who  knows  no  more  of  his  branch  than  that  which 
he  is  expected  to  teach  in  a  given  class,  will  teach  that  little 
most  poorly.  Knowledge  in  this  respect  resembles  the  sun. 
He,  indeed,is  the  great  cause  of  growth ;  but  plants  ^row  mainly 
at  night  when  the  luminary  has  already  gone  m  advance 
to  evoke  vegetation  and  life  in  fresh  regions.  Once  more,  all 
knowledge  must  be  far  in  advance  of  its  own  application ;  and 
this  leads  us  to  the  third  fact,  that  in  no  case  whatever  can 
man  say.  This  discovery,  this  portion  of  knowledge,  this  fact, 
or  law,  is  of  no  use.  We  must  go  farther  and  say,  that  a  very 
few  truths  indeed,  of  all  those  that  now  most  intensely  influ- 
ence our  existence  and  promote  our  well-being,  have  appeared 


important   at  flio  ♦• 

onization  and/^  "i^^  discoveiy  ofAmZin       ''^"^^ ^^^«n  ^lave 
in  history  wonu'^''^^"^ng  of  interP«f?       '^  extension  of 

i^gofthatknowLTelr,:'"^''^'  ^a«  nevSelif  .?  '"^^^« 
Pire  and  to  refafi}Wn.?fi  ."'^  ^^as  destinedTf  ^^  *^'^  sow- 
«tate;  man  Wot  mel^^  things  on  tl^^^^^^^^^^  ^"^- 

^henAdamsST^'  "^an'scitiesanS  J,       ^^"^  «  Political 
"ot  ffain  bt^lT^'*^  ^'^^  «fated  the  wi  !  """'^^  »«d  I  eart],s  ? 

the  frorpeSt^oLT*^  ^'^"o*^-,  buftha  lir^"^*'-^  "oL 
«f  great powe^l'^;,"?^^  «"«Pec  ed  tiiaA^f  «re  gainers  by 

truth  on  Jn-simp'lS;^     *^^^  P^^«ent  year  1^^""',  ^^«P«t 
nation.    Wp  t„    i    ^t^^^^eto  the  ««««?;  if^"?""ee  the  ffreat 

be  tuiTied  nnJ^i    f  •  *  t"e  time  to  whit-  "^^^"'7  and  steadily 

As Te'fast  of  t'r^  ^^^^""^  at  th^^^  o^yn1n  ?^".^^«"^ts  n  1^' 
tory  of  onr^!        *''^^e  trutlig,  T  Jn„u        footprints.  -^ 


take  SaVoT  or  wl".^  '"'  »'  «"8  morne^,  "'i    Into'estinff, 

i^ith  those  twrLiJi,  f r''  be  an  open  L«         '"  "'="''''1?  of 
a"  its  many  8di,-B  '""'"'»•  «'«  AtfZlT.  "/  "i"'  "mnetted 

^    6^®ss,j„stasthefoun. 


MuetioD. 


Tht 

%, 
my 

'iis- 
ns, 
of 
Je 

r, 

5- 


39 


dation  of  an  institution  with  its  own  rital  and  self-ruling 
power,  however  humble  it  may  be,  is  of  far  greater  import- 
ance to  our  race  than  a  brilliant  battle  or  tlie  name  of  a 
dynasty. 

But  there  remains  the  objection  to  the  enterprise  so  dear 
to  our  hearts,  that  it  may  lead  to  a  great  waste  of  life.  If 
the  enterprise  be  useful  and  ennobling,  and  undertaken  in  the 
service  ot  science,  we  cannot  well  speak  of  a  waste  of  life ; 
we  could  only  speak  of  a  sacrifice,  or,  to  be  more  correct,  of 
an  exposure  of  human  life.  In  replying  to  this  objection,  let 
us  renounce  the  advantage  we  would  derive  from  showing 
the  essential  improvements  wliich  have  been  made  in  the  fit- 
ting out  of  Arctic  explorations.  I  am  willing  to  argue  on  the 
supposition  that  human  life  is  greatlv  endangered.  Be  it  so. 
Is  there  any  arduous  pursuit  that  does  not  endanger 
life  ?  Does  your  commerce  not  endanger  life  ?  Do  you 
send  for  your  sugar  to  the  Havana  without  exposing  your 
mariners  to  yellow  fever?  Do  you  go  to  Europe  on  a 
single  trip  of  pleasure  and  culture  without  endangering  your 
lives  ?  Does  the  whaling  in  those  very  seas  to  wliich  Hayes 
now  desires  to  go — that  branch  of  our  industry  which  Burke 
mentioned  in  Parliament,  and  of  which  Webster  eloquently 
spoke  in  the  Senate — endanger  no  lives?  And  is  wliale-oil 
more  precious  than  the  increase  of  knowledge  ?  Socrates  used 
to  say,  Arduous  are  all  noble  things.  We  may  add,  And  life- 
endangering  are  most  high  pursuits. 

Knowledge  requires  its  martyrs,  and  glories  in  them  as 
much  as  religion  does.  Let  us  always  be  grateful  when  we 
find  men  ready  to  wager  their  lives  in  a  worthy  cause,  not 
drafted  by  conscription,  but  self-impelled  and  self-devoting. 

The  speaker,  here  turned  toward  Dr.  Hayes,  and  continued : 

If,  Dr.  Hayes,  your  and  our  highest  expectations  should 
be  fulfilled — if  you  should  find  a  water  communication  from 
Smith's  Sound  into  a  polar  basin,  and  plow  that  sea  with 
man-made  keel  for  the  first  time  since  the  day  of  creation, 
and  you  should  ascertain  the  trending  of  its  shore,  and  you 
should  sail  on  and  on  to  Behring's  Strait,  or  be  able  to  steer 
to  Spitzbergen,  and  come  down  upon  Northern  Europe  in 
your  little  craft,  heavily  freighted  with  the  glorious  news,  a 
shout  of  victory  will  meet  you,  in  which  we  shall  join  our 
Triumph !  Triumph ! 

If  you  cannot  penetrate  by  water,  or  if  you  return  and  can 
tell  us  there  is  no  polar  sea,  we  shall  be  equally  thankful,  and 
science  will  have  gained  thus  much. 


'"■ 


80 


K  you  Bhould  be  debarr:^  by  barriers  which  no  resolu- 
tion and  no  heroism  can  scale,  we  shall  receive  you  no  less 
with  our  hearty  "Well  done,  companion  in  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge ;  all  enterprises  are  undertaken  with  the  reserva- 
tion,— God  permitting. 

And  if  that  Providence,  whose  care  descends  in  each  flake 
of  polar  snow,  as  it  floats  down  in  each  sunbeam  on  the  tree- 
producing  zones,  has  decreed  that  you  shall  sleep  as  soldiers 
sleep  on  their  own  battle-fields,  wrapped  in  the  white  Arctic 
sheet,  all  those  of  us  still  remaining  for  a  brief  time  behind 
you  can  do,  in  our  humble  way,  we  shall  do,  that  your  name 
be  worthily  remembered  as  one  who  gallantly  fell  in  a  noble 
contest,  truly  on  the  field  of  honor. 

But,  Sir,  I  hope  not  only  that  we  shall  find  the  means  to 
send  you,  but  also  that  you  will  return  to  tell  your  noble 
story  nere,  on  this  very  spot,  sa"  two  and  a  half  years  hence. 
Keep  this  appointment.  You  know  that  you  have  the  sin- 
cerest,  the  warmest,  the  enthusiastic  sympathy  of  all  those  in 
whose  behalf  I  have  had  the  honor  of  addressing  you  and  this 
distinguished  assembly,  i^od  speed  you,  and  protect  you,  and 
all  your  little  band  of  daring  men  I 

Enthusiastic  applause  followed  the  close  of  Dr.  Lieber's 
address. 

Mr.  Alexander  H.  Stevens,  M.  D.,  then  spoke  of  the 
interest  which  the  matter  excited  among  the  medical  profes- 
sion, and  said  that  he  believed  that  the  scurvy,  one  of  the 
greatest  enemies  of  the  Arctic  navigator,  was  now  disarmed. 

Mr.  Frank  Moore  then  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  unanimously  adopted : 

Besolved,  That  the  special  committee  on  Arctic  Explora- 
tion have  power  to  add  to  their  number,  and  that  they  be 
authorized  to  collect  subscriptions. 

The  Society  then  adjourned. 


/ess 

of 

i^a- 

\ke 
se- 
ars 
tic 
id 
le 
\le 

to 
le 


APPENDIX. 


-»♦» 


fmwMngs  of  ^Jariotis  Sritntifa  ^oririks 


KILATITS  TO 


DR.  HAYES'  PROPOSED  ARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 


i 


THE  AMERICAN  GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  STATISTICAL  SOCIETY. 

[From  the  "  Journal  "  of  the  Elociety  for  January,  18C8.] 

Dec.  16, 1858.— I.  I.  Hayes,  M.  D.,  of  Philadelphia,  Q&te  Surgeon  to 
the  Second  Grinnell  Arctic  Expedition,)  rc»d  a  paper  on  the  "  Polar  Discov- 
eries  of  Dr.  Kane,  and  a  Plan  for  Further  Research."  On  motion  of  Mr. 
Yiele,  seconded  by  Mr.  Henry  Grinnell,  it  was  unanimously 

Ifesolved,  That  the  American  Geographical  Society  cordially  approve 
and  indorse  the  plan  of  Dr.  Hayes  for  a  continuation  of  the  explora*'  n  and 
surveys  of  the  Polar  Seas,  deeming  it  due  alike  to  the  cause  of  science  and 
our  national  character  that  the  discoveries  of  the  Grinnell  Expedition,  re- 
ported by  Dr.  Kane,  should  not  be  disputed  or  ignored,  without  an  effort 
being  made  to  confirm  the  results  achieved  by  our  gallant  countrymen. 

liesohed,  That  a  Committee  of  five  members  of  this  Society  be  appoint- 
ed to  cooperate  with  Dr.  Hayes  in  the  organization  of  the  Expedition  pro- 
posed by  him ;  which  Committee  shall  report,  from  time  to  time,  the  prog- 
ress of  the  organization,  and  shall  give  due  notice  of  the  time  fixed  for  the 
departure  of  the  Expedition. 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  to  Dr.  Hayes,  and  a  copy  of  his  paper 
requested  for  the  archives  of  the  Society. 

TniKD  Mketino,  January  6,  1869. — In  accordance  with  the  resolution 
adopted  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Society,  the  President  appointed  Egbert 
L.  Yield,  Esq.,  Henry  Grinnell,  Esq.,  Hon.  August  Belmont,  Marshall 
Leffcrts,  Esq.,  Henry  E.  Pierrepont,  Esq.,  a  special  committee  "  to  cooperate 
with  Dr.  Hayes  in  his  plan  for  further  research  into  the  arctic  regions." 


82 


THE    AMERICAN    ASSOCIATION    FOR   THE  ADVANCEMENT  OP 

SCIENCE. 

[From  the  "  Procet-dlngs"  vt  tUo  Society  for  1858.] 

Baltimore,  May  8,  1858.— At    half-past    one    o'clock,  P.  M.,  Dr.  I.   I. 

Hayes  delivered  in  general  .session  a  paper  on  the  practicability  of  reaching 

the  North  Pole.     A  vote  of  thanks  having  been  passed  upon  motion  of  Prof. 

Win.  B.  Rogers,  seconded  by  Prof.  A.  Dallas  Bache,  Prof.  Hitchcock  moved 

the  following  resolution  : — 

Retolved,  That  a  special  Committee  of  seven  be  appointed  b^  the  Chair 
to  inquire  and  report  at  this  session  upon  the  expediency  of  having  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  Association  to  cooperate  with  Dr.  Hayes  in  reference  to  an 
Expedition  to  the  North  Polar  Sea. 

The  resolution  having  been  adopted,  the  Chair  appointed  the  following 
gentlemen  as  members  of  the  Committee : — 

Prof.  Edward  Hitchcock,  Prof.  Joseph  Henry,  Prof.  A.  Dallas  Bache, 
Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  Prof.  James  D.  Dana,  and  Hon  Thomas  Swann. 

Baltimokk,  Mat  4, 1858. — The  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the 
subject  of  Dr.  I.  I.  Hayes'  proposed  Expedition  to  the  Arctic  Seas  report, 
that, — 

1.  The  question  of  the  open  Polar  Sea,  its  limits  and  character,  is  the 
most  interesting  of  those  remaining  to  be  completely  solved  in  arctic  geog- 
raphy. 

2.  The  statements  of  Dr.  Hayes,  surgeon  to  Dr.  Kane's  Second  Grinnell 
Expedition,  make  itprobnble  that,  with  moderate  means  and  appliances,  this 
problem  may  be  complt-tely  solved. 

8.  The  indirect  results  readily  obtained  by  such  an  expedition  in  regard 
to  the  magnetism,  tide.*,  currents,  meteorology,  geology  and  natural  history 
of  the  arctic  regions,  and  the  peculiar  phenomena  of  glaciers  and  icebergs, 
and  the  ethnology,  are  of  themselves  of  such  importance  as  to  demand 
further  research. 

4.  Dr.  Hayes  is  desirous  of  devoting  himself  to  this  line  of  explora- 
tion,  in  the  difSculties,  hardships,  and  dangers  of  which  he  has,  when  serv- 
ing with  the  lamented  Kane,  had  full  experience. 

5.  Therefore,  this  special  committee  recommends  to  the  Association 
the  passage  of  the  following  resolution  : — 

Bisoked,  That  a  committee  of  fifteen  members  of  the  American  As- 
sociation be  appointed  to  cooperate  with  Dr.  Hayes  in  his  efforts  to  organize 
another  expedition  for  arctic  research. 

Edwaud  Hitchcock,  Chairman.''^ 

The  report  having  been  unanimously  adopted,  the  following  committee 
was  appointed  by  the  Chair  in  accordance  with  its  recommendation : — 

Prof.  A.  D.  Bache,  Prof  Joseph  Henky,  Prof.  W.  B.  Rogers,  Prof. 
Edward  Hitchcock,  Prof.  Benjamin  Peirce,  Prof.  J.  D.  Dana,  Prof.  Joseph 
WiNLOCK,  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing,  Hon.  D.  M.  Bakringer,  Dr.  J.  L.  Le  Contb, 
Prof.  J.  E.  HiLOAHD,  Peter  Force,  Esq.,  Prof.  Joseph  Leidy,  Dr.  John 
ToBHEY,  Prof.  S.  S.  Haldeman. 

On  motion  of  Prof.  Bacue,  Prof.  Caswell,  the  President  of  the  Associa- 
tion, was  added  to  the  committee  on  arctic  exploration. 


nl 
el 


88 


THE  AMERICAN  PHILOSOPHICAL  SOCIETY. 

[From  tho  "  Proceedings  "  of  tlie  Society  for  1S59.] 

Stated  Meetino,  May  7,  1858.— Dr.  Le  Conte  offertd  the  following 
resolutions  which  were  read,  considered,  and  adopted  : — 

Eegohed,  That  the  Society  receives  with  much  gratification  the  an- 
nouncement made  by  Dr.  I.  I.  Ilayes,  of  his  purpose  to  attempt  a  further 
exploration  of  the  arctic  regions,  and,  if  practicable,  to  reach  the  north 
pole  of  the  earth. 

Jiesolced,  That  in  tho  opinion  of  this  Society,  such  an  exploration 
merits  the  zealous  cooperation  of  the  scientific  men  of  the  United  States, 
and  that,  at  a  convenient  time,  the  Society  will  communicate  to  Dr.  Hayes 
such  suggestions  respecting  the  promotion  of  its  objects  as  may  be  con- 
sidered useful. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed,  to  cooperate  with  the 
committee  recently  appointed  with  reference  to  this  subject  by  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and  to  take  such  measures 
from  time  to  time,  in  behalf  of  this  Society  as  shall  be  deemed  expedient. 

Stated  Meetino,  October  1,  1858. — The  committee  appointed  on  the 
7th  of  May  last,  on  the  subject  of  further  arctic  explorations,  by  Dr.  1. 1. 
Hayes,  made  the  following  Report : — 

The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  subject  of  the  arctic  ex- 
ploration proposed  by  Dr.  I.  I.  Hayes,  respectfully  report, — 

That,  beside  any  reflections  of  their  own  upon  that  subject,  they 
find  in  previous  proceedings  of  tho  Society  ample  warrant  for  the  opinion, 
that  the  verification  of  the  alleged  open  sea  about  the  North  Pole,  and  the 
probable  contributions  to  be  made  from  that  region  of  the  earth  to  the  col- 
lections of  science,  constitute  sufficient  reasons  for  an  earnest  interest  on 
the  part  of  tho  Society,  in  any  reasonable  attempt  to  complete  our  knowl- 
edge in  these  respects  by  further  exploration.  After  the  signal  manifesta- 
tions which  have  been  given  by  men  of  science  throughout  the  world,  of 
their  estimate  of  the  importance  of  circurapolar  discovery ;  and  with  the 
advantage  of  recent  reports,  from  a  high  latitude,  received  from  our  lamented 
fellow-member,  the  late  Dr.  Kane,  whose  efforts  were  accompanied  by  warm 
solicitude  on  the  part  of  the  Society,  your  committee  have  believed  it 
proper  to  confine  themselves  to  a  consideration  of  the  grounds  upon  which. 
Dr.  Hayes  rests  his  conviction  of  the  practicability  and  seasonableness  of 
his  proposal.  These  have  been  already  briefly  submitted  to  the  American 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and  have  received  a  very 
prompt  acceptance  by  that  body,  the  members  of  which  referred  the  sub- 
ject to  a  committee,  with  instructions  to  cooperate  with  Dr.  Hayes.  They 
have  been  also  published  through  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  at  an  invita- 
tion from  which.  Dr.  Hayes  announced  them  in  one  of  the  lectures  of  its 
last  course.  Nevertheless,  your  committee  think  proper  to  mention  the 
principal  of  them  as  forming  the  basis  of  their  own  conclusion,  that  the 
proposal  in  question  is  sustained  by  suflicient  evidence  of  its  feasibility  to 
engage  the  continued  attention  of  the  Society. 

It  is  well  known  that  one  result  of  voyages  of  exploration  prior  to 
that  of  Dr.  Kane,  was  the  establishment  of  an  opinion  that  a  barrier  of  ice 
3 


li 


84 


surrounded  the  Polo ;  and  that  in  order  to  reach  open  Tatcr,  if  such 
existed,  a  w»y  muut  bo  found  through,  or  over  the  barrier.  Dr.  Kane, 
afier  an  intelligent  considuration  of  the  digcoverics  already  reported,  aided 
by  the  illustrations  derived  from  his  personal  observation  during  his  flrst 
visit  to  the  arotic  circle,  concluded,  that  the  most  practicable  course  lay  up 
Smith  Strait,  which  he  accordingly  followed  upon  his  second  voyage.  The 
ditticulties  encountered  by  him  were  such,  that,  after  many  gallant  efforts, 
he  was  compelled  to  return  to  the  United  States  without  becoming  an  eye- 
witness to  the  physical  condition  of  the  region  towards  which  his  labors 
tended.  It  seemed  therefore  proper  for  your  committee  to  inquire  whether 
tlioso  difficulties  were  clearly  of  so  constant  a  nature  in  relation  to  all 
similar  attempts,  as  to  render  it  prudent  on  the  part  of  the  Society  to  avoid 
encouragement  of  a  project  which  his  experience  may  have  shown  to  be 
impracticable.  It  appears  that  the  most  important  impediments  to  bis  com- 
plete success  were 

1st.  The  arresting  of  his  vessel  and  her  permanent  confinement  by 
the  ice,  in  a  situation  which  was  unfavorable  to  the  efforts  of  his  exploring 
parties.  This  occurred  in  a  bay  to  the  south  of  Kennedy  Channel,  with  an 
exposure  to  the  main  pressure  of  ice,  which  accumulated  in  hummocks  on 
the  north  of  his  position  ;  and  thus  the  labor  necessary  to  any  exploration 
towards  the  Pole,  was  in  disproportion  to  the  strength  of  his  crew,  and  the 
resources  at  his  command.  On  the  west  side  of  the  channel,  under  the 
cover  of  the  projecting  land  visited  by  Dr.  Hayes  (to  the  most  prominent 
point  of  which  the  name  Oape  Frazcr  was  given),  the  ice  is  reported  as 
free  from  the  impediments  above  stated ;  and  a  good  harbor  is  reported  to 
exist  for  wintering  a  ship,  with  egress  by  the  opening  of  the  channel,  or 
through  leads  in  the  ice  during  the  arctic  summer.  The  account  published 
by  Dr.  Kane,  shows  how  large  a  proportion  of  the  sufferings  and  disap- 
pointments of  his  exploring  parties  was  due  to  the  position  into  which  he 
was  forced. 

2d.  The  want  of  fresh  provisions.  The  unavoidable  delay  of  Dr. 
Kane's  departure  from  New  York  beyond  the  period  proposed  by  him,  pre- 
vented his  collecting,  near  the  Danish  settlements  in  Greenland,  the  fresh 
stores  which  abound  in  that  neighborhood.  Originally  contemplating  a 
single  year's  work,  he  was  detained  beyond  his  expectation,  with  scanty 
supplies,  until  his  men,  worn  out  by  excessive  labor,  and  restricted  mainly 
to  a  salt  diet,  became  the  victims  of  fearful  assaults  of  scurvy.  His  nar- 
rative shows  how  much  of  his  disappointment  is  due  to  this  cause.  His 
dogs,  indispetisablc  auxiliaries,  were  unable  to  subsist  upon  salted  meats ; 
and  thus  the  entire  stress  of  the  work  fell  upon  an  ill-conditioned  ship's 
company.  Dr.  Hayes  proposes  to  give  two  years  to  his  exploration.  The 
first  of  these  he  designs  to  employ  in  reaching  his  head-quarters  at  or  near 
Cape  Frazer ;  and  in  establishing  thence  northward,  on  the  west  side  of 
Kennedy  Channel,  secure  dep6ts  of  provisions,  as  far  as  the  latitude  as- 
signed by  Morton  to  the  open  wator  reported  by  him,  or  further,  if  neces- 
sary ;  and  in  explorations  preliminary  to  the  main  attempt.  The  second 
year,  or  such  portion  of  it  as  mn^  bj  sufficient.  Dr.  Hayes  appropriates  to 
the  ascertainment  of  the  conditio)'  of  the  polar  adjacencies,  and  to  such 
observations  as  may  be  most  important  to  science.  Thus  the  expedition  of 
Dr.  Kane,  which  may  seem  to  discourage  further  attempts  in  the  same 
direction,  is  viewed  by  Dr.  Hayes  as  really  furnishing  the  knowledge  which 
promises  final  success.     Your  committee  concur  in  this  view. 

In  such  circumstances,  your  committee  cannot  doubt  that  it  is  proper 
or  the  American  Philosophical  Society  to  codperate  with  Dr.  Hayes,  in 


B\>ch  11 

especl 

best  f 

B\on  0 

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85 

a  5n  like  cases;  ft^i*^ 

tions  M  mty  >>«<  P'         ,     „i„„iitoa.  . 

AUot«hichUp«t.c«y  ,„„,.„,  -1        ^,„.„,, 

SrePiiB^  COL""'-'-'  t 

The  resolution  "^^       ^oint  the  committee,  a 
,„BoiBcerauthomedtoapp  „,,ed  members  .ere 

"'^**'"'*  May  6,  1859.^Tbe  fo^^^'."  V;^^^  in  further  arcUc 

SEATED  M^BTiNO,  MaV  6  ^.^^  ,,,.  ,.  I.  Hay 

appointed  a  committee  to  c    P  ^^^^ 

exploration:-  ^    xIobkut  E.  Ro«J«^    p.  Lesixv,  Re'- 

Dr.  John  ^-  1;%%    Hon.  Ed^^^^""  ^ 
A.«KH.  BA»«KS,  D.D..  __ ^^  ^^    _  _  , 


P.     JOHN     "•    "-,.  T^      ^lon.  l!iDWA«-   - 

,UE  ACADEMY  OF  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ,,, 


MEimso  or  tb>  Acao  ^.tftecoromu- 


„r«  adopted  •.-  ^  ^rt  „uh  6««' '""f torlhcr  expl»' 

Be^oUed,  T»»t  a  j^^.  jiayes. 

behalf  of  the  Academy  y  ^  ^^^^^^^._ 

The  committee  was  then  appo^  ,^,,,,,,  I«xac  Lbx,  Es^^^^,  s.  XV. 
Prof.  JOB.  l^]X\^!o^..7vrol  JOS.  LEI.V,  Dr. 

FoCLKE.  Esq.,  I^Vt  S  N  .       .ndProf.  Jo^epu  Cabsos, 

R„scaENBEKGEB,  U.  b.  !>•    ^  ^^^^^  p.HASD.Esq.,  and  l-roi 


36 


That  the  exploration  contemplated  by  Dr.  Hayes  appears  to  deserve  the 
encouragement  of  all  individuals  or  societies  who  possess  an  interest  in  the 
advancement  of  science,  and  especially  of  those  who  cultivate  the  various 
branches  of  Natural  History,  for  the  following  reasons: 

1st.  The  interesting  problem  of  the  existence  of  an  open  Polar  Sea 
cannot  as  yet  be  considered  as  satisfactorily  solved ;  as  is  made  manifest  by 
the  doubts  recently  expressed  by  a  distinguished  geographer,  in  a  memoir 
read  before  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London.  Yet  this  problem 
is  so  intimately  connected  with  theories  of  climate,  not  only  in  that  region, 
but  over  a  large  portion  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  that  its  de6nite  solu- 
tion must  be  considered  as  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  study  of  geog- 
raphy ;  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  its  investigation  may  lead  to  valuable 
results  of  a  more  commercial  nature.  It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that 
this  subject  will  attract  the  attention  of  other  nations,  who  are  engaged  in 
an  honorable  rivalry  with  us  in  promoting  the  knowledge  of  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  it  is  highly  desirable  that  the  credit  of  furnishing  the  defi- 
nite solution  should  belong  to  the  nation  to  whose  energy  and  enterprise 
the  interesting  results  already  obtained  are  due. 

2d.  The  natural  history  of  this  extensive  region  remains,  as  yet,  almost 
entirely  unknown ;  while,  from  the  peculiarities  of  its  climate,  hnd  its 
proximity  to  the  land  of  the  eastern  hemisphere,  it  seems  certain  that  much 
valuable  information  as  to  the  habits  of  animals  and  plants,  and  the  connec- 
tion of  our  Faunas  and  Floras,  both  ancient  and  modern,  with  those  of 
Europe  and  Asia,  may  be  gained  by  such  an  exploration  as  is  here  contem- 
plated. 

8d.  The  excessive  difficulties  and  hardships  of  such  an  exploration 
serve  to  deter  any  but  the  most  adventurous  spirits  from  undertaking  it ; 
while  the  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  both  the  instruments  of 
observation  and  the  observers  themselves  are  placed,  render  a  frequent 
repttition  of  the  observations  necessary  to  produce  confidence  in  the  results. 
Every  encouragement  should,  therefore,  be  extended  to  all  who  ara  willing 
to  undertake  the  arduous  task,  and  capable  of  properly  meeting  its  unusual 
responsibilities. 

The  committee  therefore  recommend  to  the  Academy  the  adoption  of 
the  following  resolutions : — 

Resolved,  That  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia, 
having  full  confidence  in  the  entrgy,  prudence,  and  scientific  capacity  of 
Dr.  Hayes,  recommends  the  arctic  expedition  projected  by  him  to  the  favo- 
rable consideration  of  all  who  are  in  a  position  to  assist  him  in  his  enter- 
prise, believing  that  its  success  will  contribute  largely  to  the  advancement 
of  science  anu  to  the  honor  of  our  country. 

Resolved,  That  the  Academy  will  cheerfully  assist  Dr.  Hayes,  in 
carrying  out  \i\a  plans,  by  all  means  in  its  power. 

John  F.  Fkazer, 

T.  B.  Wilson, 

Isaac  Lea, 

\Vm.  Parker  Foulke, 

J.  L.  Leconte,  \  Committee. 

Joseph  Leidy, 

Wm.  S.  W.  Ruscbenberoer, 

E.  DURANU, 

Joseph  Carson, 

The  report  and  resolutions  were  adopted,  and  the  committee  con- 
tinutd." 


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88 


5.  By  the  rise  of  the  temperature  in  winter  when  the  north  wind  sets 
in,  which  is  also  damp ;  as  observed  by  Baron  Von  Wrangel  and  Sir  Ed- 
ward Parry.  The  cause  of  this  elevated  temperature  in  the  arctic  waters, 
Dr.  Hayes  thinks,  may  be  found  in  the  influence  of  the  Gulf  Stream  flowing 
northward  as  an  under-current  to  equalize  the  effects  of  superficial  flow 
southward.  This  direction  in  the  flow  of  the  deep  water,  is  inferred  from 
the  drift  of  the  deeply-laden  icebergs  northwards,  while  the  lighter  ones 
move  southward.  Moreover,  what  compeii^-ation  for  astronomical  exposure 
may  not  the  drainage  of  five  millions  of  square  miles  from  the  northern 
water-sh<ids  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  America,  introduce  into  the  temperature 
of  the  great  arctic  basin  ? 

If  these  mild  waters,  embosomed  for  centuries  in  a  zone  of  ice,  are  to 
be  reached  by  civilized  man,  Dr.  Hayes  thinks  that  the  best  invitation  to 
success  comes,  not  from  a  purely  nautical  expedition  along  the  easterly 
coast  of  Greenland,  but  from  more  westerly  meridians,  to  be  traversed  by 
boats  and  sledges. 

The  committee  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  examine,  singly  or  collec- 
tively, the  force  of  these  various  arguments  in  favor  of  an  open  polar  sea. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  human  curiosity  will  not  be  satisfied  until  the 
mystery  on  this  subject  is  cleared  up  by  new  expeditions.  To  postpone 
these  expeditions  to  another  generation,  when  much  of  the  personal  expe- 
rience already  gained  will  have  been  .  forgotten,  and  when  the  services  of 
those  best  qualified  to  conduct  them  can  no  longer  be  commanded,  woultl 
not  be  a  wise  economy. 

With  these  few  hints  on  the  views  and  objects  of  Dr.  Hayes,  in  hitt 
appeal  to  the  Academy  for  scientific  aid  and  sympathy,  your  committee 
conclude  with  the  recommendation  of  the  following  resolutions : — 

Jtesolved,  That  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  appreci- 
ate highly  the  laudable  ambition  of  Dr.  I.  I.  Hayes,  to  continue,  and,  if 
possible,  consummate,  the  arduous  exploration  for  which  he  has  already 
sacrificed  much,  and  is  willing  to  sacrifice  still  more;  and  that  the  Acad- 
emy tender  him  their  sympathy  and  influence. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed,  from  the  members 
of  the  academy,  to  co-operate  with  Dr.  1. 1.  Hayes,  and  to  render  him  such 
scientific  counsel  as  may  make  his  new  effort,  if  undertaken,  secure  the 
greatest  advantages  to  science  and  humanity. 

Joseph  Loverino,  ) 

Henry  L.  Eustis,  >  Committee. 

Joseph  Winlock,  ) 

On  motion  of  Professor  Felton,  the  resolutions  were  adopted  unani- 
mously, and  the  subject  was  referred  to  a  committee,  consisting  of — 

Prof.  Joseph  LovERwa,  Prof.  Hentiv  L.  Eustis,  Prof.  Joseph  Win- 
lock,  TndMAs  G.  Carey,  Esq.,  Benjamin  A.  Gould,  Esq.,  Prof.  Tjeophilus 
Parsons,  Edward  Wiogleswokth,  Esq. 

THE  BOSTON  SOCIETY  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 

[From  the  "  Proceedlnns"  of  the  Society,  for  1858.] 

Meeting  op  the  Society,  November  3,  1858. — The  committee  to 
whom  was  referred  the  letter  of  Dr.  I.  I.  Hayes,  announcing  his  intention 
of  making  another  attempt  to  reach  the  north  pcle  of  the  earth,  would 
report: — 

1.  That  we  regard  the  proposed  expedition  with  no  ordinary  interest; 


and 

neai 

sons 

in  a 

the 

esp 

nat 

pre 

ful 
as 
as 
ra 
t\i 

P' 
t( 

fi 
I 


39 

and  receive  a«««jancc^^^t^^^  '^^"r:t^TJo:^'^^-^  may  be 

«ear  "PP-^^ hit  s  shown  that  the  - -''I^t.^^JSe^eB  of  its  conductor  of 

^    %  Th«t  "l»l»  ;?",  1  „%:,■,  of  the  additions  rmao  y'  (  „„  globe, 

fully  realise''.  ?«>;  *    GeemVy.  •»«  '^t'  "hTiwXince,  pereeyf 

S^.ot=;a^£Sl^ir.r«.t^orto  t.«att.e.i. 

''"'^5S""^>"'''»"''-"n™...»A  Go.»,    )  ,„„„,,,, 

Samuel  Kneeland,  Jr.,  ? 
Theophilcs  Pabsons,     ) 

The  committee  appoint  to  prepa  ^^ ,_ 

™«ed  Expedition  of  Dr.  ll.y»  '»  ""  *'«  ,„„d  differ- 

r,hat   otrnthst^n^f  *?  rSnetSnX'  be*.ean.«d,  respcc  ™. 

y!^^""-"°":  Ulpipe,  t.at  - -T-« 

ties,  and  we  thereior  ^^^  cordially 

tions :-         ^^  ^  .  ^  .,  ^„.„^  of  Natural  HiBtory  'n  ^^^        t^tion  that 

I?e«.Z.«d,  That  the  Lycevmi  ^    ^^  •'luhL  has  heretofore  been 


40 


that  all  interested  in  scientific  researcb,  and  having  the  ability,  vrill  aid  him 
in  his  sell-sachf  cing  design. 

Extracted  from  the  Minutes. 

John  Redfield,  Corresponding  Secretary. 


THE  ROYAL  GEOGRAPHICAL  SOCIETY  OF  LONDON. 

[From  the  "  Proceedings"  of  the  Society  for  1868.] 
Meeting  of  the  Society,  Jdne  14th,  1858. — The  President,  Sir  Rode- 
rick Impet  Murchison,  said :  I  ought  to  mention,  to  the  honor  of  our 
kinsmen  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atldbtic,  that,  not  content  with  having 
done  so  much  in  search  of  Franklin,  they  now,  on  the  proposal  of  Dr. 
Hayes,  the  companion  of  Kane,  contemplate  a  further  expedition  to  ascer- 
tain whether  there  is  or  is  not  an  open  sea  beyond  Smith  Sound.  As  geo- 
graphers we  cannot  too  warmly  thank  them  for  the  spirit  they  have  dis- 
played in  this  arctic  subject 


LETTER  FROM  M.  DE  LA  ROQUETTE, 

Yioe-PreBident  of  the  Oeographical  Society  ol'Pari*. 
To  Mr.  E.  B.  81    *  ieky,  Secretary  of  the  Oowncil  of  the  American  Oeographical  and 

moist  leal  SooUiy,  New  York. 

Faxu,  Friday,  January  21, 18S9.  \ 
19  Kue  Mazarine.        ) 

Sir  : — It  is  with  tue  liveliest  interest  that  I  have  read  the  numbers  of 
the  "  New  York  Tribune"  (D'jc.  6),  "  Evening  Post"  (Dec.  17),  and  "  New 
York  Times"  (Dec.  18),  which  you  have  had  the  kindness  to  transmit  to 
me.  They  apprise  me  of  the  new  organization  of  the  American  Geogra- 
phical and  Statistical  Society,  and  at  the  same  time  of  the  fact,  that,  upon 
the  proposition  of  Dr.  Hayes,  one  of  the  companions  of  the  heroic  and 
unfortunate  Dr.  Kane,  your  Society  has  adopted,  in  concert  with  other  sci- 
entific institutions  of  the  United  States,  the  project  of  sending  out  a  new 
expedition  into  the  arctic  regions,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  information  furnished  by  the  latter,  particularly  as  to  the 
existence  of  an  open  Polar  Sea,  that  is  to  say,  free  from  ice,  which  would 
either  approach  the  Pole,  or  extend  to  that  extremity  of  our  globe  which, 
up  to  the  present  day,  navigators  have  made  vain  efforts  to  reach. 

From  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  American  Geographical  and  Statis- 
tical Society,  I  perceive  that  the  expedition  will  probably  leave  in  the  spring 
of  1860,  under  the  command  of  Dr.  Hayes,  its  promoter,  and  that  its  expenses 
will  be  covered  by  means  of  a  subscription.  The  attachment  which  I  have 
always  felt  for  Dr.  Kane,  and  which  he  kindly  shared,  and  the  honor  which 
your  learned  Society  has  done  me  by  electing  me  as  their  Honorary  Mem- 
ber, leaves  me  ground  to  hope  that  they  will  allow  me  to  place  my  name 
among  the  number  of  subscribers  with  a  sum  of  five  hundred  francs,  which 
I  hold  for  their  disposition. 

I  have  already  announced  to  the  Geographical  Society  of  Paris  the  truly 
national  project  conceived  by  the  United  States.  I  will  profit  by  the  new 
information  contained  in  the  numbers  of  the  papers  which  I  owe  to  your 
kindness,  and  will  draw  up  a  detailed  account,  which  will  probably  appear 
in  the  "  Nouvelles  Annales  de  Voyages."  I  shall  always  receive  with  grati- 
tude the  communications  which  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  make  to  me. 

Allow  me  to  express  to  you,  Su*,  the  assurance  of  my  most  distinguished 
consideration.  De  La  Roquette, 

No.  19  Rue  Mazarine. 


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Till;  Si'EoiAi,  ('oMMiriKK  of  the  AnioricHii  Gciignipliical  and 
Statistical  Society,  appoiuttMl  to  co-operate  with  Dr.  Isa/  •  1. 
ITavks  in  orpinizinf^  an  expedition  to  the  Arctic  Seas,  havinj;- 
been  empowered  l)y  the  Society  to  solicit  sul>.scrii)tions  for  'tFiat 
object,  earnestly  appeal  to  those  interested  in  the  promotion  of 
knowledge  to  aid  them  in  this  behalf. 


*«* 


The  objects  contemphited  by  the  proposed  exi»editioii  are: 

1st.  The  fiirtiier  exploration  of  the  Ojten  Polar  Sea,  discovered 
by  Dr.  Kane,  witli  the  view  of  determining  its  limits  and  cliarac;- 
ter;  and  tluis  to  settle  more  positively  this  vexed  (^nestion. 

2<1.  To  complete  the  survey  of  the  northern  coasts  of  Greenland 
and  Grinncll  Laiid. 

3d.  To  determine  important  (Questions  relative  to  the  magnetism, 
the  meteorology,  the  natural  history,  and  the  general  physics  of 
the  nnexploi'cd  region,  north  of  Smith  Strait. 

Henry  Gkinnki.l,  Es(|.,  has  been  appointed  Treasurer  of  the 
fund,  and  subscri])tions  will  be  received  at  his  office.  No.  -lO  Jjur- 
ling  Slip,  or  at  the  Rooms  of  tlie  Society,  Clinton  Hall,  Astor 
Place. 


EGJ3EKT  J..  VIELK. 
AUGUST  IJELMONT. 
FRANCUS  L1E13ER. 
GEORGE  EOJ.SOM. 
BENJAMIN  H.  FIELD. 
HENRY  E.  PlERRErONT. 
CHARLES  P.  DALY. 
LUTHER  BRA  DISH. 
MATHEW  MORGAN. 
JAMES  L.  GRAHAM,  Jr. 
THOMAS  TILESTON. 
FRANK  MOORE. 


\  1 
o. 


HENRY  GRIN  NELL. 
CYRUS  W.  FIELi! 
PETER  COOPER. 
MARSHALL  LEFFEj 
HAMILTON  FISH. 
CHAULES  KING. 
JOHN  J).  JONES. 
GEORGE  F.  WOODWARD. 
JOHN  D.  CLUTE. 
GEORGE  OPDYKE.  ^ 
PELATIAH  PERIT. 
F.  S.  STALLKNECHT 


